How Global Education and Financial Strategies Are Shaping the New Economic Mindset

Why Is Everyone Living Someone Else’s Life? How Social Expectations Hijack Your Happiness (And What to Do About It)

Let’s get brutally honest: most of us dragged our “life values” straight from the family buffet, where parents dish out helpful advice on everything from how to live, to what job to pick, to how you’d better settle down and stop frightening the neighbors. The irony? Even those dispensing these pearls of wisdom don’t always look thrilled with the menu. If you step back and take a critical look, you’ll realize many of these inherited patterns might be as outdated as last season’s memes.

Here’s where it gets absurdly entertaining. Society loves simple rules: “Grow up! Get a real job! Own property! Wear socks in public!” If you dare wander off-script, you’ll get that special look—equal parts concern and judgment—that says, “Let’s talk about your life at the family dinner, shall we?” And so, from the playground to the office gossip, we train ourselves to expect a parade of joys that real life rarely delivers. No wonder people look at happiness like it’s a discount they just missed at checkout: “Did I do something wrong? Why am I more anxious than overcaffeinated squirrels?”

Now, the big contradiction: the more people chase success as defined by everyone else, the further they drift from their own desires. If you lose sight of your own “I want,” life quickly morphs into a never-ending list of “I must” and “I owe.” Suddenly, you’re living for deadlines, bills, and the lingering guilt of not being enough—which, let’s admit, is an odd definition of freedom. Obligations become fashionable chains; the harder you try to be perfect, the easier it is to become the designated family scapegoat with a subscription to stress.

Especially for young people, this pressure forms an invisible spiderweb. Parents expect you to outdo their dreams, society measures your worth by milestones you didn’t invent, and you end up trapped, terrified to color outside the lines. Being “responsible” starts to sound a lot like being “predictably miserable.”

It gets better—by which I mean, the hamster wheel spins faster. Most folks realize, at some point, that their big, sparkly life expectations don't match reality. Some expect everlasting happiness, only to find themselves stuck in an endless search for the latest flavor of success, convinced that satisfaction is for the next person in line. Others confuse material wealth with real fulfillment, as if “more stuff” is the cheat code for inner peace.

So, want some relief from the great societal guilt trip? It starts with this: happiness and financial prosperity are not the same thing. Spoiler alert: you’re allowed to want something different, and you’re allowed to build a life that reflects your own desires, not just a spreadsheet of obligations. Real joy comes from ditching borrowed expectations, defining success for yourself, and recognizing that sometimes, riding public transport with a dream is more liberating than driving a luxury car full of regret.

Here’s what you can do now:

1. Take inventory of the “rules” you’re following. Whose dreams are you living? If it’s not yours, time for a rewrite.
2. Give yourself permission to want what you want—even if it’s weird, “impractical,” or sounds like a plot twist your parents would veto.
3. Seek new voices: find mentors, read brave thinkers, look for case studies of people who zigged where others zagged. There’s real power in learning from those who unglued themselves from the mold.
4. Change your self-talk. You’re not a ticking time bomb of social obligations; you’re a one-of-a-kind experiment in finding joy.

And the next time someone asks, “So when are you going to do things properly?” just laugh and say, “I’m already doing them properly—just finally for myself.” Because, frankly, life’s too short to win a game you never wanted to play in the first place. Break the cycle, get curious about your possibilities, and start building a life that’s actually yours. Who knows? You may even inspire someone else to do the same—from their own lane, socks optional.