Ever heard the saying "It's not about the journey, but the destination"? If don't allow ourselves the freedom to enjoy the ride -- even if we don't reach said destination when we want (if ever), happiness will always lie out of reach.  That being said, we should never attach our happiness to outcomes.  In other words, don't set your expectations sky high so as to set yourself up for disappointment in the event things don't work out as planned.  We all want to have lifelong relationships, to have a lot of money, to have the perfect job. While some people may be lucky enough to have one or more of the above, chances are you may hit snags along the way that prompt several detours. Our lives will never be perfect. What we imagine in our minds doesn't always materialize, and that's okay.  Though miserable at first, we may realize later that where we ended up was the vastly superior path.  For example, your 15-year relationship may end abruptly. After pr...

As cliché as it may sound, I have found this maxim to be true: "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Granted, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes that ultimately serve as valuable learning experiences. What's more, some of us plan and still end up with less-than-desirable outcomes. But far too many of my friends have wound up in difficult situations -- from grappling with poor career choices to navigating tumultuous relationships -- that could have been avoided had they only planned ahead. Here are a couple of reasons why we might fail to plan our decisions carefully: We're impulsive : We act in the moment without carefully considering the consequences beforehand. We're lazy : There's a reason why psychologists have dubbed human beings "cognitive misers." Naturally, we try to expend as few mental resources as possible. We're emotional: Whether we're happy or angry, our emotions often get in the way of reason, leading us...