Family, Friends and serving others

Have you ever really thought about your life? The other night I woke up in the middle of the night and did. I used to wake up in the middle of the night because I was so stressed and had so many to-do lists. This time I simply thought about where I was a year ago, where I am now and where I am going.

I'm not having a mid-life crisis or anything like that. I just had a moment of clarity and reflection that I never had time for or allowed myself to have time for before.

A year ago, I was working a job that had changed so much that it didn't allow me fulfillment anymore. At least it didn't, unless at the expense of other things in life I loved.

Don't get me wrong, I loved what I did. One of my great loves in life is serving and helping others. It was simply the position that didn't allow me to do the things I really wanted to. I was SO busy and stressed out that I didn't or couldn't take time to appreciate or evaluate if what I was doing in life was truly making me happy. So, I looked inward and thought about what really makes me happy in life.

I found there were three things that were really what made me happy. My family, My friends, and Serving others.

Did I really serve others in my job? Yea, in many ways I did and there were definitely times in my job where I truly felt I was making a difference, but it came at a cost that was too high for me when I really evaluated it.

Was I really spending the time nurturing the family and friends that made me happy? Not at all. My work kept me from both and when I did have time to spend with either I felt I needed to catch up on things like housework and homework....

I wasn't able to see how my future dreams and what I really wanted out of life were being neglected because....."I just needed a little more time and then I would get to it".....or "next week I would start on that project" But my "going through the motions life" always got in the way and it never happened. Then I woke up one day and thought...half my life will be over before I decide what really makes me happy and doing it.

I realized I was wasting my talents and happiness in life. I wasn't doing something that was really making me happy. Was I in danger of letting my life slip away right in front of me? I had all I needed to make the changes. Change is scary, but once I made those changes, I have never been so fulfilled.

I'm sure that losing my job and my husband's deployment kick started me making these changes, but I think about how many people are doing things in life just to do them and not because they make them happy. What are three things in your life that truly make you happy?