This post has been guest written by Selena Leon.

The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset, is what you will find as the definition of “patience” when searched online. While going through life at any point in time, we are faced with the challenge of learning to accept what is happening now. Many of us can admit to dwelling on what could have been, instead of existing in the present moment.

Learning to let life take you where it wants is understandably difficult, but at the same time it doesn’t have to be a restraint. Living in the society we are currently in – we tend to put an immense amount of pressure not only others, but ourselves. Comparison, guilt, shame, envy, “I should have done this,” “why isn’t my life like theirs?” arise constantly and it is okay to admit.

Conforming to what is going on around us is inevitable to say the least. Hopefully I am not just speaking for myself when I say I feel like I am running against the clock. With each year that passes, each month, week, day, maybe even hours for some, there’s a voice in the back of our mind that continues to bring up the fact that we should be doing more at this stage of our lives.

It’s healthy to challenge yourself from time to time to keep your mind going. With that being said, it can easily turn into a negative battle. Who came up with the idea that everyone’s lives have to go a certain way by a designated time? Time frames can be toxic, in different circumstances of course.

We all live different lives, see different things, experience different challenges, but in the same breath we are told to be one way and one way only. This world we call home is so vast with billions of people inhabiting it and we’re all expected to be the same? Go to school, graduate, go to college, graduate within four years, get a job in that field, work a nine to five, get married, have kids, work for the rest of your lives, have fun once in a while, and then die.

I know that it’s the harsh reality for many, but I would like to make it clear that it is okay to live a life like what is mentioned above. The point I am trying to make is not everyone will go by the rules or take the same path we are told to take from a young age. It is almost like a safety net. If you do A, B, C and D you will succeed!

I am here to tell you not everything will fall into place as we expect it to, but that is what makes us human. We are faced with obstacles to grow and learn from them. Take the time to grasp why things are happening the way they are and go from there. One step at a time and go at your own pace, not the pace of others. We get one life to live – make it one that you enjoy.

Take each day for what it is, do not let the pressures of society dictate how you want to live. How my life is, is going to be different from the next person and there is nothing wrong with that. Nothing is guaranteed – go out and get the job you’ve always wanted, take risks, break out of social norms, but remember to be patient. Time can be scary for most but don’t try to race against it.