How an Online Quiz Gave Me a Life Revelation

How many of you sometimes get distracted by taking the fun, but sometimes ridiculous and time consuming online quizzes? Personally, I can get sucked into them quite easily. Even if they aren’t scientifically accurate, they are at least amusing.

Let me ask you another question. This may seem unrelated at first, but hear me out. Do you ever feel “stuck” in the current place you are in? Perhaps you have a dream, but feel as if you are unable to realistically pursue it. Neither money nor clients grow on trees, and this hinders so many of us from continuing to push forward. We convince ourselves that we are not currently in a place where we can feasibly pursue our aspirations, whether it is due to finances, time constraints, stress, burnout, etc.

So how exactly are these two questions related? Let me share a quick story. The other night, being the true procrastinator I can be, I became momentarily sucked into some of these online quizzes. There was one I found (will link in description for anyone interested), titled, “What inspirational quote are you?” As someone who lovesss quotes, is a very versatile person (therefore making it hard to accurately depict me with merely one quote), and also someone who tries to be an inspirational figure in this world, I was quite intrigued. I figured it would at least be a fun distraction, but my results truly resonated with me.

The chosen quote was written by Milton Berle, and says the following: “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” I love this quote and it really does nail one of my biggest life philosophies.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to utilize my life to help people, and to leave a positive mark on the world. After years of soul searching, I realized that all of the situations I have been faced with in life were actually fuel to make this dream a reality. I have so many ideas, and my soul genuinely smiles as I come up with each and every one of them. I wish to make inspirational content, including books and videos that teach people the true meaning of happiness, self love, and how to unapologetically be themselves whole-heartedly, as I truly believe that this is a big part of the equation for living a meaningful life that you love. I want to show people how self expression through style and other personal touches really can boost overall confidence and happiness. However, I have been hit with multiple barriers along the way, primarily financially and stress- related that, quite honestly, made me think that maybe it really was just a “dream;” one that could not be turned into my reality. I didn’t even have a computer. My tech knowledge was lacking to say the least. I felt burnt out; like I never really had a break. How was I supposed to thoroughly believe I could accomplish all of these things when I faced so many obstacles? Even when I felt as if I overcame one barrier, another one seemed to pop up. As soon as I was able to save for a computer, I found myself immersed with other life situations that were very time consuming, again stripping what I saw as valuable time that I could utilize to accomplish these goals. I wanted to give up. Scratch that, I didn’t WANT to give up; I got to a place where I wondered if that was the logical thing for me to do. Perhaps I had the skillset and passion, but I lacked the proper resources.

I have heard so many stories from people who felt that exact way. Being persistent can get exhausting after a while, especially when confronted with so many perceived obstacles that convince us that perhaps it is a pointless effort.

I stumbled upon another quote one day, and it really hit home, refueling my passion to purse what I know I was put here to do. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”

Here is my life motto: when you don’t have the resources, challenge yourself to see just how resourceful you can be. I have utilized this in so many aspects of my life, yet, what I have recently discovered is that I have been failing to apply it to the one part of my life where I needed it the most: embarking on my life’s journey. I was looking at the big picture; where I wanted o be years from now, instead of breaking it up into attainable goals to bring myself to the place I ultimately wanted to be. Looking back, it doesn’t surprise me that I felt so hopeless at times. I wanted everything to work out THEN. I didn’t want to take it one step at a time, because what if it failed? Wouldn’t that mean I had let even more time slip away from me? No wonder I was so drained and stressed; putting that amount of pressure on anyone is enough to make anyone second guess perceived expectations and dreams versus ”the reality.” My reality, and the life circumstances I faced weren’t going to change overnight, so why did I expect my dreams to become my reality overnight?

Upon thinking about this, I came to a self realization. My lack of resources was not what was stopping me. What was stopping me was my lack of faith in myself to make it work, using what I currently have access to, to build to those bigger aspirations. The resources Are there; we just have to be creative. We have to remember that the easiest solution is not the only one. Here is something to ponder. Take a moment to think about what you envision your ultimate life looking like; not the steps, not the journey there, but ONLY the final product. Now, let me ask you this. If we could easily get there now, do you think that we would find joy and meaning in pursuing it? I honestly believe that . We would likely merely get the goal accomplished, mark it off our “bucket list,” and then question what was next.

As human beings, although we may not enjoy, or even welcome, all challenges, and all situations where we have to emerge from our comfort zone, we typically find that a significant lack of these leaves us feeling as if we aren’t making the most out of our life. We may not even realize it, but we somewhat crave challenges: they are what make our lives exciting, and give them a feeling of purpose. If something is too easily and quickly accomplished, quite honestly, we can easily get bored. It somehow loses some of its value it originally had on us.

Continuing to push may be difficult, and it may seem unfair that you have to jump through extra hoops based on your circumstances, especially in a world where we can so easily witness others that seemingly don’t have the same challenges. However, and trust me when I say this, as I have had to personally learn this: when you do make progress, and when you do take one more step in the right direction, you are that much more appreciative, knowledgeable, stronger, and refueled. There aren’t many things in life that come easily, but what’s the fun in life if it does? Confronting and defeating challenges and setbacks is what connects us even closer to ourselves, and gives us a feeling of purpose and meaning. It might be a long road ton get where you want to be. It might be an extremely long one, and much longer than what you see others encountering around you, and that’s discouraging for anyone. However, always remember, if you take it one step at a time, refusing to give up, thinking outside of the box, and constantly reminding yourself of why it is so important to you to begin with, you WILL see progress, even if its merely in yourself. Never underestimate the power in that, because that is part of the key to the ultimate discovery you are seeking. After all of those negative feelings you experience, the pride you find in succeeding, in MAKING it work when it seemed difficult or nearly impossible before, is an indescribable feeling that makes it all worth it. If everything were easy, we would be stripped of that immense feeling of happiness. Short term satisfaction is NOT worth long term dissatisfaction.

There have been many things I have not exactly succeeded at doing. I refuse to call them failures, because they have all brought me to understanding myself in a way that I never knew was possible. They are part of my journey, and I must embrace them.

My main takeaway point is this: don’t get caught up in feeling bad for yourself being one of the “unlucky” ones who constantly has to deal with setbacks. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones; you are on your journey to a genuine feeling of happiness purpose that many will never discover. Dont give up. If its your passion, there is a reason. Therefore, try not to get too discouraged. Be creative and persistent, and you’ll be surprised at how you see your life begin to manifest into what you want it to be. Take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and soak in the present versus solely dreaming of the future. I promise you, it is the best decision you will ever make. I’ll leave you with one more quote to ponder upon, written by Florence Nightingale. “I attribute my success to this: I never gave up or took any excuse.”