Hi everyone! I'm Rick and I've joined this forum somewhat recently. What I have in mind here is to just discuss my thoughts on topics I found related to anxiety. The topics have no specific order as I'm going with a list I simply made on paper. This is very subjective and just meant to share my view. If you have a different take, feel free to post below as I enjoy listening to different perspective.

-Expectations-

We have expectations for ourselves and so does our loved ones. One classic example is our parents having expectations of us going the "safe" route where kids go to school, get a degree and then get the job in that field. I'm sure everyone have heard of the life advice from their relatives and friends regarding their future.

One problem is, by trying to meet the expectation of your parents or other people, you are trying to become the person they want to see in you. You aren't being yourself and, as a result, you sacrificed your own happiness and future. We all had big dreams when we were young. Some of us want to be singers, writers and other profession. Then, our parents tell us that we cannot make a living out of those and be more realistic.

Take me for example. I went to university because I listened to my parents. I believed in their advice about going to school. Now that life is a mess for me, I'm starting to question if I made the right decision. Lots of people probably listened to parents and, when it doesn't work out, they question whether they made a mistake to listen to others. In addition, we also get into a situation where, since this wasn't our passion to start with, we lack the motivation and drive to overcome difficulties.

Life will have ups and downs regardless of what we do. What makes us keep moving forward is a drive or passion that we really want to succeed in a certain thing. When we do things that make other people happy but make ourselves miserable, we basically give up and don't want to do it anymore once failure and tough challenges come around. I've decided that, regardless of what my parents say, I need to pursue a dream I'm passionate about. I will encounter obstacles for sure but, at the very least, I will welcome the challenges as each one gets me closer to my dream.