One of my most memorable counseling moments occurred this year. I write this blog with permission of the person I was seeing.
A gentleman who had spent a year making incredible personal progress was reflecting on how far he had come and how much he had learned, when he made a comment that I felt was profoundly raw and I think common for all of us if we are honest.
He said,
“Sometimes I ask myself why I have to deal with depression all the time. I start to wonder, why do I have to work so hard to be happy…”
And as he said that, it reverberated with my own tendency to groan at how adulthood and life in general always requires so much effort. Even if it isn’t a struggle with full blown depression or bipolar issues, don’t we all wish that we could just do enough so that we could finally be done? Taking out the trash, self grooming, yard work and paying bills are tasks that may be completed for a time, but always come back. There seems to be no way to avoid doing the work it takes to have the life we want.
But, as he continued without me saying anything, I realized he wasn’t complaining.
“…but then I stop myself and think, I’m burying the lead here. If I know the secret to happiness, that is pretty epic. That’s what everyone is looking for. So what if it takes some work.”
And that my friends, is the simplicity and the power of a new perspective.