Do you have any idea where you’re going with your life, or all we all just floating around, hoping something sticks? Personally, I have no idea where I’m going or why I’m going or how I’m getting there. I know what I’m not good at, I know what to cross off the list, but once I’ve narrowed it down to everything I could do, I have to ask the more serious question of what I should do.

Among the things I could do, should I pursue what will make me the most successful or most happy? Maybe they’re one and the same, and if that’s the case then I suppose it wouldn’t matter which path I chose, as I’d end up in the same place. Isn’t that nice though? In any case, I’m not going to leave my life up to that fat chance.

If I take the success route, I’ll probably have money, security, and the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve accomplished something. This sounds like enough to make me happy, but there’s really no way of knowing.

Truth is, we can never really anticipate what will satisfy us and for how long. Even when you’re “living the dream,” the dreaminess wears off eventually. It’s not that we don’t still appreciate the feeling of satisfaction, it’s that it simply takes more to achieve it.

Like I said before, I know what I don’t want to do. At the very least, I know that I don’t want to spend my whole life on the hamster wheel, getting more and more tired of maintaining the same position and all along not moving an inch.

So many of us get caught up in this vicious cycle, always chasing our tails or trying to up the ante. Whether it’s getting in one more Fortnite win, or making one more superficial friend, or earning one more A, we’re all playing at the same game. This is reflected by literally every aspect of our lives, even by our economy. Capitalism has been a hot topic lately and so many have condemned it, but ask yourself: how guilty are you of having the same type of mindset?

How can I, how can we escape this and finally find some solid ground and good standing? Are we just doomed to run in the rat race of time?

I certainly hope not. There’s got to be more, unless… maybe that’s exactly the kind of questioning that has landed us in this predicament. Maybe rather than asking what more there is to get, achieve, buy, or gain, we should just take an inventory of what we already have. I know I’m beginning to sound like an underpaid life coach or some underwhelmed mom on Pinterest, but maybe they’re onto something with those cheesy sayings.

If those old adages are right in any capacity, that would mean that even right now as I write this, planning my future, yearning for what will always be just beyond the horizon, I’m letting the day I have get away from me. There are many days to come and many things to achieve, happiness and success alike, but as for now savor what you have. Don’t get so caught up trying to escape the rat race that you end up in a whole nother one. Point is: gaining success and happiness aren’t the epitome of life. They’re great and all, but just because you’ve gotten to a place of relative stability and contentment doesn’t mean you’ve cracked the code. Eventually, those feelings will wane and you’ll be so caught up trying to find them again that you’ll forget to appreciate all the other ones along the way: anticipation, nostalgia, hope, heartache, and yes, even sadness. So to answer my initial question: what should I do? Well, I should take it all in one day at a time, and so should you.