For the longest time, I was always spending half my energy pining for the missing aspects of my life.

In school and college, I was constantly waiting for the next big opportunity, be it better grades, an exemplary internship, or better yet, more experimentation in social life.

When I entered adult life in the form of employment, I chased the high of better opportunities and bigger chances at work.

Then came the personal aspect of settling down. I was so consumed with my checklist that it was an operation of failure.

In hindsight, I feel that my thirst for something better had more to do with not being present in the moment and being comparative to what a person my age would have achieved at a particular stage in life.

This constant chase for the next big thing actually made me miss out on the big things happening for me.

Probably I would have enjoyed my academic years with a more carefree nature, which a young girl should have. Maybe I would have basked in the success I achieved at my jobs and not sought another bigger moment.

I feel like the hunger for good things is definitely needed in order to not have a stagnant life. But there needs to be a balance when it comes to the topic of comparative growth.

Off late, I asked myself, “What if some aspects of my life aren’t the same as they are for the majority of people?”

What if I actually may never get something in life because I have chosen a different path? How is it bad to live life on my terms and be different?

And when I asked myself these questions, I realized how trivial my pursuit of something better was. Before, I never realized that at every stage, I got the best of what life has to offer.

Learning to be content in the moment made me appreciate the worth of so many positive things in my life.

The moment I stopped comparing my journey to what an ideal 28-year-old’s journey should be. It dawned on me that my choices have always been leading me to what is ideal for me. And one cannot have one mold for the life of billions of people.

My journey is unique and ideal in its own way, and this is the biggest contentment.

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