Would I Be Happier If

I Was A Different Person?

“…when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives everyday that the sun rises” — Paulo Coelho

Whenever I find myself in a rut or a tough situation, I have always wondered…

What if I wasn’t the person I was today? Would I be happier?

I don’t dwell on this question or spend my days frequently wanting to change myself, I am happy with who I am, it’s just a question that has crossed my mind…(just a little disclaimer).

I’ve been experiencing a journey Paulo Coelho scribed onto numerous pieces of paper, titled The Alchemist. I’ve read many enlightening novels that look at life in such a deep perspective where sometimes I wouldn’t gather everything the author wanted me to catch, but Coelho does a great job in voicing his opinions. If you could only see how many post-its I have sticking out of my book, each representing a meaningful piece of advice, generalization, theory, etc…

As I read Coelho’s words, I realized that this question of whether being a different person would mean greater happiness or not was the wrong perspective. Why do I even think about changing myself when I should be seeing things in a different view.

If it is change I want, then why not change the way I look at things. If I take the time to acknowledge the good in my life versus the temporary bad, wouldn’t that ultimately make me happy? This seems to be just a simple concept that everyone should live by but Coelho places this realization into a metaphor that involves something that every person has experienced: the beauty of a sunrise.