We want it all, and we want it all NOW

I just keep in mind that there are people out there, living in my city, eking out a living who would LOVE to be in my position.

Did you know, the average salary of a Canadian is around $30,000 or less?

It really puts things into perspective when you hear that, and look at what can be purchased in a whole year for that salary.

It means you don’t get the fancy car, big mansion or newest gadgets.

It means you are just struggling to keep a roof over your head and to get some decent food on the table if you live in the city.

There is a time and a place to be jealous, frustrated, whiny and sad; but it certainly isn’t all the time.

I kid you not, I allow myself a little pity party once in a while, but after I think carefully about what it is I am bitching about, it usually helps me put things into perspective, and put it behind me.

There are people out there who are being crippled by debt either of their own choosing, bad decisions, or what have you.

But the past is in the past, and they are stuck with whatever cards they were dealt at the moment.

They’re struggling, and sometimes I need a good mental slap to realize that I am extremely lucky and privileged to have been born where I was, raised as I was and given the opportunities I’ve been given.

Sure, a lot of it was hard work for the most part, but luck played a small role in it as well.

I didn’t just fall into business school — I worked to get there.

But from each piece of hard work, came a certain amount of luck — in being offered the job; being in the right environment where companies wanted to hire new graduates, and so on.

I could have turned out the other way.

I could have made all the right decisions in life and ended up $100,000 in debt, working a minimum wage job that can barely make the rent and pay my loans, eating beans out of a can and lamenting the sad events of my life.

We don’t want to be happy with what we have

I don’t know where I first read that above sentence.

It may have been during that same class in college, but nevertheless, it made a big but slow impact on my life.

Over the past couple of years since graduating, I realized that I should shut up and just be happy.

In my situation, it was a choice that I was not taking advantage of.

I didn’t have anything holding me back, except myself.

I could choose to be unhappy, and be envious about everything and let the green-eyed monster suck me into trying to one-up Jane Jones…

…or I could choose to be happy with what I have, and work on my perspective.

It’s certainly the cheaper option, I’ll tell you that much!

But not the easiest.

It’s easier to spend money to make yourself feel great, beautiful and special… but a lot more difficult to reach that point by just reflecting on your life and changing your attitude.

Still, I am going to keep trying. Perspective really is everything.

“Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.” ~Dale Carnegie

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