Have you ever felt that you are living a life meant for someone else? The following warning signs might mean you should make your own dreams a priority.

Often we can find ourselves living a life that was not quite what we wanted or expected. This can happen because of pressure from others or just because things didn’t quite work out how we planned.

If you find yourself experiencing these warning signs, you might be living life for someone else instead of yourself.

1. You give in to other peoples’ demands all the time

Are you afraid to upset the apple cart? Do you give in to other people’s requests simply to keep the peace? Doing this means your dreams and desires get left behind. If so, you might have ended up living the life someone else wants for you. It can be hard to make changes and upset people. But this is your life – so spend it doing what you want.

2. You avoid thinking about things too much

If you are afraid to even think about what you are doing with your life, it is a sure sign you are not living the one that you are meant to. Habitually drowning out your thoughts with TV, social media or alcohol indicates it’s time to make a change.

If you don’t take the time to really think about what you want from life, then you can never make it happen. When other people try to pressure us into taking certain actions, we can end up living a life that is not suited to us. But we need to follow our own dreams and not those of someone else.

3. You’re only doing what you’re doing because it’s safe.

When you live life by other people’s rules, you can end up sticking to safe options when making choices about your life. Perhaps others have always told you to be safe and sensible. People may have told you your dreams are too difficult to achieve. They may have your best interests at heart, but only you can know what will really make you happy.

If you always take the safe option, you may avoid any pain, disappointment, and embarrassment, but you won’t achieve wild joy and success either. You will never grow if you refuse to take a risk sometimes.

4. You are often bored or dissatisfied.

Feeling bored is a sure sign that you are not living up to your full potential. Life is amazing. There are so many opportunities out there. There simply isn’t any reason to feel bored. Try doing something different every day. Take some risks, shake things up and find something that really excites you in life.

5. You’re addicted

If you are numbing yourself with food, drugs, alcohol, sex, or TV, then there is something you are avoiding. We numb ourselves when we are in pain so this is a warning sign that your life is not all that it should be. Making changes is difficult, especially if we risk upsetting someone else. But you will never find the solutions to your happiness at the bottom of a bottle or a bag of donuts.

5. Everything is going wrong

When every little thing that could go wrong does go wrong, the universe might be trying to tell you something. Perhaps these incidents and accidents are gentle, or not so gentle nudges to wake up and do something with your life.

When you live from your heart and soul, things will begin to go more smoothly. Of course, though there may still be bumps in the road. But you will face challenges with energy and enthusiasm rather than sinking into despair.

6.You feel sick and tired

If you feel sick and tired of being sick and tired, you are not on the right path in life. Our lives should light us up and fill us with enthusiasm and excitement – at least for part of the time. No one’s life is a bed of roses and we all get sick from time to time. However, if this has become a near constant state, you might like to think about making some changes to get back on the right path.

7. You aren’t connecting with others in a meaningful way

We often put on a mask to face the world. But if you are living a life that is false, it prevents you from opening up to others and making meaningful relationships. Relationships rely on trust, honesty, and openness. But before you can be open with others, you have to be honest with yourself.

8. You are working hard but getting nowhere.

We think that if we work hard enough, we will achieve success and happiness. But if our hearts aren’t really in what we are doing, then this will rarely be the case. If you are working hard to please others rather than yourself, you are living someone else’s dream life and not your own.

If there is no creativity or enthusiasm in your work, then the results will always be disappointing. Focus your hard work on something meaningful to you and you have every chance of being happy and successful.

Closing thoughts

Finding out you are living the wrong life can be scary. But it is always possible to get back on track. Don’t spend your precious time here on earth living someone else’s life.

It can be hard to make changes, especially if we feel they will upset or disappoint others. But it is worth it to make your own dreams come true. Take the time to work out what your ideal life would look like and then start working towards it.


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This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. sahil

    awesome…love you..thanks

  2. Wojt

    I think this is why a lot of people get depressed in life.

  3. Emmanuel Maxwell

    Thanks…
    My question is:
    Using myself as an example
    My name is Emmanuel Maxwell and i’m from Nigeria. There is this believe by some folks that if you speak in British accent it probably means that you are from a wealthy home. But i came from an average family and i speak the British accent….
    One of my coursemates is told me that i’m living a fake life all because of the way i speak (accent) and this always makes me depress…..
    I need your advice…….

  4. F Rubio

    Enmanuel, I hope you don’t mind if i give you my opinion on your question…. One can never live a fake life only for having a particular accent… you only can live a fake life only when you cheat your own. When you pretend something you aren’t, when you are slave of appearances, when you give credit to what others think and say without thinking by your own.

  5. Yolanda Denise Reed

    I felt this way at my McDonald’s job when I applied I applied to work part time shifts so I could look for a second job to make more money for my plans I had then 3 months later the hiring manager came to me and asked if I wanted to become full time I told them yes but I didn’t know they were going to mess up my plans and that’s where I made my mistake,the hiring manager paid you good for 3 months and after they started taking your hours from you and finally 6 months after I got a second job but my first job wouldn’t make my schedule to where I could get a second job knowing that they were doing me wrong with my hours then I had to let my second job go but you would think if your first job doing you wrong with your hrs and money they wouldn’t care if you get a second job, but after that then they made me work all day at his job making sure I didn’t get another second job and was steady taking hrs and money from me ,for some reason my first job was holding me back from the life I wanted to live,and sometimes the floor/service managers did you wrong also my sending me home early than I’m suppose to get off ,they would lie and say I cash drawer was short of money and I would have to pay it back and sometimes they tell me I can’t come back to work until I pay the shortage , I don’t quite know why they did that but I knew they were lying because I don’t steal unless I made a mistake (gave a customer to much money), this was not the kind of life I intended to live and the life I wanted is what most of them kept me from having. 😢

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