We all want to be successful, but we often follow someone else's idea of success. For example, your parents might expect you to become a lawyer and join your father's lawyer's office. All you need to do is graduate from college, and a well-paid job is already waiting for you. You don't want to disappoint your parents and be ungrateful for such a great opportunity, so you play along and try to adjust. But something is always missing, and a few years down the road you end up feeling miserable and are seeking a way out.
In order to be happy, we need to be willing to go after what we want, even if it's different from what our family, friends and social circle expect from us. It's our life, and we are responsible to make the most of it – according to our own vision and values.
It might be scary to go against the grain, disappoint our family, and take the road less traveled. But it's the only way to live true to ourselves, without regrets.
What can help a great deal is to surround yourself with people who support you, and limit contact with those who judge you and criticize you for your choices.