Not getting what you want? Don’t worry, it’s meant to be.

Have you ever heard this quote from the Dalai Lama “sometimes not getting what we want is a wonderful stroke of luck”? I love this quote, it makes me think about all the things I thought I wanted and all the things I didn’t get.

Looking back at a younger me, I see a very different person from the one I get to be today. Just a few years ago, I had drastically different priorities and possessed what I would now consider to be pretty questionable values. Back then I hoped for things I wouldn’t want today. Just a few years ago I wished for a life I would go great lengths to avoid now. This doesn’t mean that I was wrong. It simply shows how much I didn’t know.

Isn’t it amazing how much can change within a relatively short period of time? Particularly when we make room for personal growth. This kind of growth takes patience and a whole lot of soul searching. It requires thinking outside of the box. It may call for visiting places we’ve never been before and it might demand of us to let go of predispositions we oh so cherish. If we pay attention, we can almost hear our inner selves silently screaming to break out of their tightly fitted comfort zones. If only we dared to try something new, something scary, just enough to shift our perspective. If only we gave our soul some room to stretch its legs. Imagine the wonder we could find.

Through my own set of experiences, I now see that not all of our wishes are meant to come true and I now realize just how wonderful that can be. Here are some examples of what I didn’t know just a short time ago and how grateful I am to know them today.

• I didn’t know that the quiet of the forest sounds better than the noise of a bustling city.
• I didn’t know that money is just a supporting role, not the lead.
• I didn’t know that there is so much more to life than building a career.
• I didn’t know that big mansions and fancy cars do not guarantee happiness.
• I didn’t know that by chasing things on the outside I would never find inner peace.
• I didn’t know that facing uncomfortable inner pain of the past leads to finding the ultimate freedom of the future.
• I didn’t know that struggles and challenges don’t happen to us but happen for us, in order to propel us to become stronger and more resilient beings.
• I didn’t know that being comfortable in my own skin feels way better than trying to fit in.
• I didn’t know that trust is worth the effort even if there is a chance we may get hurt.
• I didn’t know that vulnerability is much more attractive than perfection.
• I didn’t know that being weird is actually much more fun than being normal.
• I didn’t know that being myself was not only enough, it is the key to emotional freedom.
• I didn’t know that I don’t need attention to feel validated.
• I didn’t know that a walk in nature can help us solve some of our most complex problems.
• I didn’t know that welcoming and accepting all beings just as they are, feels so much better than criticizing and judging them. I mean this for the smallest of things, like judging someone’s attire to bigger more meaningful ideas like criticizing someone’s lifestyle choices. I’ve learned to love letting people be!
• I didn’t know that love is the answer to almost every problem. At the very least, it is at the core of every solution. If we think and act from a place of love, our lives will be better and more fulfilled.

I’m grateful that the wishes of my past did not become the reality of my today. So if you haven’t quite obtained what you are hoping for right now, perhaps it’s life’s way of telling you that there are better and more meaningful experiences waiting ahead. Don’t fret over not getting that job, not landing the deal or not getting a callback. Maybe it’s all preparing you for the future, more wiser, more resilient and more complete you. After all not getting what we want could be a wonderful stroke of luck.

Need help with soul searching?  Try these articles How to Live Awake and Surviving in an overachieving world

Sending you love, peace and good vibrations.