Settling. Ugh. I despise that word. Yet, it is such a common fucking trend these days. We all do it and while some of us are fine with settling for “okay” others are sick of it. I fall into the latter category. It’s like we’ve all been conditioned to live this contradictory lifestyle: they tell us we can have it all but then they scorn us when we express a desire to reach for our goals; to live our dreams. Who are “they”, you ask? “They” can be anyone who has influence in your life; a parent, a friend, a partner, even an acquaintance. These people can be fabulous human beings, loving, giving, helpful people but make sure that within all their awesomeness they aren’t weaving a thread of negative energy into your plans of conquering the world, or at least conquering your life.

Some of us have been settling for years now, figuring it’s better to be happy some of the time than striving for more, with the possibility of failure, most of the time. Some people settle in their jobs, some people settle in their relationships, some people settle on where they choose to live. It’s often the easier way and will definitely contribute to some of the happiness in your life but why settle on a little slice of pleasure when you can step out of your comfort zone and get your whole pie’s worth of happy?

It’s a scary thing to do, stepping out of your comfort zone. It’s been so engrained in all of us that we need to follow the perfect path, littered with milestones, to lead us to the wonderful life we so desire: the land of OZ. But the yellow brick road never was an easy trail to transcend and we’re crazy to think that getting from point A to point B to point C without a few snags will lead to the happiest life. Uhh, no. You need to be attacked by crazy flying monkeys, meet up with some wacky friends, and take a nap in a bed of flowers along your journey to truly appreciate where you end up. You need to diverge. You need to fall. You need to get up. You need to learn.  And you need to go where your heart is leading you, even if it means dropping off the beaten path for a mile or two.

Most of us are innate settlers, it’s in our nature. It’s not a fault or an awful personality trait because it’s normal, it’s what we were taught. Some of us are perfectly happy to settle for a life that makes us only partially whole, and there’s nothing wrong with that but there’s also nothing wrong with wanting more. Yearning for more, desiring for more, needing more. Kicking away all of the fake barriers you have built around yourself and saying “Fuck it, I’m going for more”. There will always be reasons for you not to go ahead with your dreams, reasons to hide your goals under your pillow and sleep on them for the rest of your life. You will never have the desired amout of money to chase your dreams and you’ll never be the right age, but if you would just stop making excuses maybe you would actually see that everything you ever wanted is actually within reach. It might take a little stretching, it might take travelling outside of your comfort zone, it might mean huge obstacles (hopefully none as scary as a green witch trying to steal your ruby slippers) but in the end, it might just mean fulfillment.

So, if you have already achieved everything your heart has ever desired then congratulations to you for never settling. But if you’re like me and you’re facing two paths ahead: one well kept, bright, safe, and flat, the other a bit dingy, speckled with the unknown, full of rolling hills and adventurous landscapes, choose wisely. Choose the path that will get you to your dreams even if it might not be the safest choice. Choose the trail that is going to lead you to true happiness instead of a fake utopia filled with regrets and what-ifs. In the end, it is your life and only you know what your OZ should look like. Don’t let anyone put down your dreams or tell you it’s impossible. If your heart is leading you to some place unknown, then trust it, trust yourself, and follow it. Because settling never made anyone’s heart burst at the seams.

Settler no more,
The Love Hawk