Ever wondered why people have these looks on their faces as they go to work in the morning.. Have you looked at their facial expression or lack thereof on your way to work especially during the morning commute.

One morning on the commute to work, I recall being on the bus with someone dear to my heart, bringing my attention to look at the people around us and observe their body language. I can never forget the expression used. Although a bit of profanity, yet it was so funny, I laughed so hard. Please excuse me as I use the term “miserable f&#*s” to describe those people.

Maybe it’s because they had to wake up so early, wishing they were still in bed, covered by a warm blanket. Maybe they rushed to get out that morning and haven’t had their coffee yet. Maybe they are so hungry. Maybe their car broke down and now they have to take two buses and a subway/metro to reach their destination. Maybe just before leaving the house they had a fight with their parent, sibling, boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, kids … whoever.

And maybe because they hate where they are going: school or work or wherever they are headed. Maybe they are dreading seeing a particular person they have to deal with on a daily basis: teacher, boss etc. Maybe they are thinking of that test they have to do, their due project that is not ready yet, the pile of files they will find when they get to their desk, or the endless emails they have to go through after coming back from vacation. There are endless reasons that can be causing this sad, gloomy, miserable face in the morning. Who knows.

Not everyone is doing what they love to do. Not everyone is happy in their life choices. Not everyone has the luxury to choose. Life has become tougher each day, more and more becoming difficult to live a desired lifestyle.

You end up going to a university based on availability, enrolling in a program based on your final scores and pre-requisites. Therefore, the courses you take in high school direct your path whether you like it or not, whether you had much choice in it and whether you knew what you were getting into at an early age. Your fate is decided nonetheless.

And so the cycle continues. It may start from your schooling, to your job and at times it carries on to your partner whom you end up marrying. And one day, you wake up and realize, you never wanted any of this. This is not the field you wanted to ever work in. This is not the house you wanted to live in. This is not the wife or husband you ever dreamed of.

You find yourself living a life that doesn’t belong to you. Yet, you wake up every morning, and go to a job you can’t stand and come home in the evening to the woman or man you don’t love and the cycle continues until you find a way to change your situation, keep settling, making the best of your reality or you explode and walk away from it all.

I cannot sit here and tell you, it is all in your hands to change your life. I cannot tell you either that you put yourself there. I cannot tell you whether it’s easy or hard to walk away or start over. Who am I to tell you these things? I simply have no right. I am just like you in the end, going through life, figuring it out as I go.

Only you can decide to change your life. Only you can take responsibility for where you ended up. Only you can see things clearly. Only you have the power over your mind, the power to confront your fears and the power to take action. Only you can decide that you no longer want misery in your life. You get to decide the whys, the hows, and the whens. Only you.

Miserable once upon a time, can turn into happy now and for all times. Change is possible – when you decide it’s time.