Changing Direction: It’s Not Too Late to Be Who You Want to Be

Published on March 3, 2013 by admin   ·   No Comments

 Raylene Samuels/TinyBuddha

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~C.S. Lewis

Growing up, people always saw me as the over-achiever and said, “That girl is really going to make something of herself one day.”

I often felt the pressure of having to live up to these expectations.

I recently turned 30 and it was a day of reflection for me. I always had this idea that by the time I turned 30, I’d be one of the top celebrities in South Africa, living the life of a talented singer, a self-made millionaire, driving a fancy car, living in a big mansion—the works!

I realized I was merely living up to an idea I had in my head of what success meant to me.

Perhaps what I wanted was a tad unrealistic.

I’ve always been told to dream big and have gone through many ups and downs working toward these goals, but at some point I decided to change my direction.

I had to grow up and realize that perhaps these things I wanted just weren’t in the cards for me, and that maybe, in realizing my true potential, I first had to be content with that notion.

When I did this, I realized what I definitely wanted in my life, and it couldn’t have happened at a more perfect time.

I have my day job (of course); I work in the web industry as a developer and I love it. I enjoy the people I work with and I’m excited to come to work every day.

It’s just that lately, I’ve started thinking about where my life is headed and how I want contribute to this world and do my part to make it a better place.

I love helping others with their personal problems. People have always told me I’m an excellent listener and advice-giver, and that I am wise beyond my years.

It took me a while to get to the point in my life where I feel content with myself as a person. With all my past experiences, I am able to help others, but I always felt I should be doing this on a professional level too.

I wanted to study Psychology but never really did anything about it because, when I was younger, I felt I didn’t want to become a financial burden for my folks. I had this terrible excuse that I just couldn’t afford to go to college, and never even plucked up the courage to ask my folks about it for fear of rejection. In retrospect, I see that was a blessing.

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