What if Making Your Dreams Come True
Doesn’t Make You Happier?
Lisa Selow
www.michellephillipsblog.com
The sales person was kind to
me, asking me if I needed help.
I was taking my time, which
has become a normal thing for
me as I heal myself of chronic
fatigue syndrome. Rushing
around just isn’t an option any
more.
She looked down at the dark
bluish bruise on my right arm,
blurted out, “Oh my gosh!
How’d you get that bruise?”
I smiled as she apologized for
asking a personal question.
I said, “It’s okay. I don’t mind
sharing. I’ve been getting some
intravenous nutrients the past
two months. We couldn’t get
the needle in my right arm last
week, so I’m a bit bruised. I
asked if we could try another
vein and it didn’t work. Luckily,
we found a vein in my left arm.”
I explained about my turning to
integrative medicine again to
heal chronic fatigue since it
had worked for me in the late
1990s during my first bout of
the illness. It turned out that the
sales woman had a family
member with similar
challenges.
Really, there’s no coincidences.
It made sense why I had
shared so personally with a
complete stranger. Maybe
some of my journey could help
her loved one, I reasoned.
The sales woman was curious
about how I ended up getting
sick. I didn’t want to keep her
from doing her job, so I told her
I’d give her the short version. I
said I made a dream come true
of getting my book published
and I worked myself to the max
for two years. I explained how I
neglected my own self-care at
times and how I became
emotionally upset to the point
of making myself ill.
We ended up having a deep
conversation about the price
we think we need to pay to
make our dreams a reality. We
both decided that maybe it
could be fun or even easy next
time around.
I smiled as I walked out of the
store. Even though most days
the past year I’ve been faced
with two or three symptoms
each day of varying degrees
such as insomnia, digestive
challenges, fatigue, soreness,
migraines and mild depression,
I have hope. I know that I’ve
healed myself before.
I’ve been doing my best to see
this recent health challenge as
a gift. I figure there’s some
things I’m learning. I’ve been
able to return to my passions
and hobbies, self-care and
learning how to relax again. My
inner teacher knows there’s
lessons that I can pass along
to help others. Some of these
lessons have revealed
themselves to me. I share the
main ones learned so far here
with you:
Sometimes,
making your
dreams
come true
doesn’t
make you
happier
1. Sometimes, making your
dreams come true doesn’t
make you happier. As
someone who’s creative,
sensitive, and a perfectionist,
I push myself really hard. I’m
hard on myself to do well
and please others, along
with my intention to be of
service to others on the
planet. Talk about pressure!
I’ve learned that it’s so
important to enjoy the
process, not just the result.
In hindsight, I see that I
would have been much less
stressed had I just enjoyed
the simple pleasures of
writing and marketing my
book, instead of worrying
about making it all perfect.
The cost was not only my
health, but my inner peace.
I’m working on reclaiming
both.
2. If you help even one person,
you’ve done your part. Yes, our
human side really wants to
touch as many lives as
possible.