Could've...Should've...But I Won't

Here Comes a Kim"ism"!!

This phrase has been lurking around my entire adult life. It wasn't until I entered my 30s that it dawned on me that I SHOULD just change up the end of the saying to I won't...or maybe I will.

There were the little things like at the beginning of college how I "should have" lived in a dorm or gone to a university or how I "should have" bought a condo or continued to rent because I am a single woman. Yeah, well whatever.

Then there are the big things...dating. Everyone "should be" following a certain set of rules. Puke. This is like saying all men "should be" a technology major driving red trucks and woman "should be" nurses driving white sedans.

Even though I feel like social media is great for having any and all information at you fingers, as well as maintaining relationships with friends/families and even entrepreneurship/growing a businesses - the "should've" that messes with all of our minds is really wild. I "should be" posting pictures of all the places I go, expensive things I buy, and the large groups of my best friends (I am guilty as charged). Then you skim through your news feed and see everyone else's post's about the cool things they are doing. You can't help but think....I should be at a picnic with 40 people on 4th of July, even though you had a great day alone at a beautiful beach people, sunset and firework watching.

What's wrong with our society to make us feel like we need certain levels of education, certain types of cars, a marriage and kids during a very narrow time frame in our lives to be happy? I realize some of this is economic and biological.....but shouldn't more of us be making an effort to take paths that are less traveled? Or at least slowing down to process what happiness means to us? It will probably be different than your closest friend, or cohorts, or parents. This is a mind blowing concept but it might not involve money/things or someone next to you to depend on. And in the end as long as your decisions make you happy it truly doesn't matter how many "likes" you get. It doesn't even matter if 800 of your friends know about the decision.

As I look back the best decisions I made were the ones that the majority of my peers were resisting. This puts my mind at ease because I know I am living my life truthfully and authentically. I certainly hope you are!