Words that changed my life

To the teenage girl who happened to be next to me on the train: You were talking to your friend, and she seemed really depressed because she couldn't find a boyfriend. I was half-listening to the conversation as I fell asleep when I heard you say: “Why do you want a lover so much?” What do you think will change in your life when you have a boyfriend? Her words woke me up. At that time, I was obsessed with getting my “dream job.” I was depressed and anxious about it, crying about it, feeling like a complete failure, and it was all I could think about and talk about (and complain about). As soon as I got home, I wrote a list: “Things I think would change if I got my dream job.” “I ended up writing a very long list. I basically considered that all of life’s problems, big and small, were due to me not getting this particular job. And not only that, but I was putting things on the “waiting” list until I got this job for no good reason, as if I needed a specific professional title to go to the club or... I practice my hobby! So I grabbed this list and started doing everything I wrote on it. I started to deal with the problem directly and find ways out of the things I was unhappy with. I still want this job, but my happiness will not depend on it. Since then, whenever I find myself obsessed with a certain matter, I take the time to think about whether I am using this matter as an excuse for not working on solving other problems that I may be suffering from. So thank you, teenage girl, who happened to be next to me on the train. You were trying to help your friend, but you changed her life. A strange person instead! From Book 44 Amazing