I can’t tell you how many times people have responded to me in that way. Now, I understand that there’s a difference between complaining about something and not being complacent about something. I’m not talking about complaining. I’m not a fan of complaining, so what I’m talking about is the way people react when you dream out loud and share your future plans with them. It’s as if some people, who are fine with their lives, want to make you feel bad for wanting more out of yours.
Of course if I’m healthy, it could be worse and I could be unhealthy. Of course there’s someone out there struggling with their health who would love to just be healthy. But you would never tell a blind man who wants to see, “Suck it up. It could be worse. You could be blind and deaf.”
Life could always be worse. For anyone. But it could also be better. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting more out of life, no matter how much you’ve accomplished.
I mean, really. It’s okay to be happy with where you are in life and to not want to start a business or change the world or dream bigger. But sometimes people who aren’t overly ambitious seem to have a really hard time understanding and accepting people who are. They just can’t understand why you aren’t okay with what you have now.
Let’s think about that though. What if some of the most famous overly ambitious people weren’t overly ambitious. What if they were okay with just accomplishing whatever other people thought was good enough, and they never sought more in their lives?
What if Oprah had been happy with just getting a job at a TV station? I’m sure her family would have been just as proud of her.
What if Jeff Bezos had been happy with just selling books out of his garage? He probably would still have a life most people would die for.
What if Master P had been okay with just having a record store (those don’t even exist any more)? Maybe someone else would have made us say “Ugggghhh”.
What if Beyonce stopped at Destiny’s Child? Most singers would be absolutely okay with getting that far in their career.
What if Barack Obama had been happy with just becoming a Senator? The majority of Senators never run for President.
Or what if Martin Luther King Jr. had been okay with just helping the members of his church?
Greatness never settles. Greatness is always ascending to higher heights, seeking out more people to help, more innovation to develop, or more possibilities to discover. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you for wanting to be great — to accomplish more in life.
Contrary to what some people believe, it’s actually possible to be grateful for what you have, what you’ve accomplished, and for where you are in life but to also want to accomplish more.
Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for wanting more out of life. When someone hits you with the “it could be worse” line, tell them that’s exactly why you want better. You aren’t laid up in a hospital bed or horribly suffering, so that’s all the more reason to use all the gifts the Universe blessed you with to make your mark on the world.
I bet that will shut them up.