I went to the very first The School of Life USA conference a couple months back. A 3 day intensive with my favorite author, Alain de Botton. One of the things we did was play this hilarious game where we write our biggest dreams down on a piece of paper, go onstage in front of the hundreds of attendees, and then announce to everybody that we will be giving up on that dream!

Case and point? Sometimes, our dreams aren’t really our own. And sometimes they can cripple us more than they can help. Sometimes, the hard work we’re putting in, the gold medal we’re trying to win, isn’t really because we actually want it, it’s because somebody else told us we’re supposed to want it. It’s a tough truth to face, let alone discover because if the answer isn’t what you want it to be, it could jeopardize the identity you’ve worked your entire life crafting.

Then again, I don’t think because it’s a hard question, that we shouldn’t try to answer with complete honesty. You might not like what you find, but from what I’ve learned, sometimes the darkness is what helps you find the light.

by Jason Lam