Un(follow) Their Dreams to Live Yours! Not Living Your Dream in Your Dream Job? Time to Wake Up!

When was the last time you truly paused to reflect on the life you’re living versus the life you want to live?

It’s easy to get swept away by the tide of societal expectations, peer pressure, and the allure of success stories we see all around us. We often set goals not because they align with our passions or values, but because they’re a ticket to validation from the outside world. Think about it — how often do we equate success with that big MNC job, the perks, the six-figure paycheck, and the social bragging rights? It’s a narrative that’s been fed to us, celebrated in society, and held up as the gold standard.

Yet beneath the shiny surface, life can often feel hollow.

For many, these “dream jobs” and “ideal careers” are mere facades — a means to maintain a status quo they secretly resent. The reality? A lot of us are trapped in roles we dislike, pursuing goals we never truly wanted, just to avoid judgment. Why? Because admitting you want something different — something smaller, quieter, or more unconventional — feels like failure in a world obsessed with appearances.

What Drives This?

The culprit is fear:

• Fear of being criticized or judged for “falling short.”
• Fear of losing the material symbols of success that society values so highly.
• Fear of standing out as the one who took a different path and didn’t conform.

But here’s the hard truth: the people we’re so scared of disappointing? They don’t matter. They never did.

When we prioritize how others perceive us over what we genuinely want, we hand over control of our lives. And before we know it, years pass, and we’re stuck living someone else’s dream — or worse, society’s dream — while our own fades away.

Is It Time to Wake Up?

Ask yourself this:

• Will your life crumble if your paycheck reduces by 20%, but you gain peace of mind?
• Is it really foolish to set audacious goals, risk failure, and chase a dream — even if it’s entrepreneurship or starting over in a completely new field?
• Does it make sense to stay in the same role, with no external promotions or accolades, simply because it aligns with the life you want and gives you joy?

The truth is, chasing your version of happiness — whatever it looks like — isn’t foolish. It’s courageous. Living a life designed to satisfy others’ expectations is far more dangerous because it leads to quiet resentment, burnout, and regret.

Un(follow) Their Dreams to Live Yours

It’s time to stop following the crowd and start charting your own course.

• Let go of comparison: Success doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. Define your own metrics of fulfillment, not someone else’s.
• Reassess your goals: Are they truly yours, or are they goals you feel obligated to have?
• Take the leap: Whether it’s scaling back for a simpler life, pivoting to something more aligned with your passions, or taking on a riskier venture, the only person who gets to decide is you.

Success isn’t one-size-fits-all. The true measure of it lies in how aligned your daily actions are with your inner desires and values.

So, ask yourself: Are you living your dream, or someone else’s? If it’s the latter, it’s time to wake up, un(follow) their dreams, and start chasing your own.

After all, the only person who has to live with your choices is you.