No, not everyone has to have #VacationGoals. 

And not everyone has to be passionate about their job. It’s a job. Play your role. If you’re passionate about it, great. But my friend who works a 9-5 job, just tries his best to meet the highest quality standards while working and clocks out when he’s done. Do I ask him if he ‘likes’ his job? Hell no! Because I know he likes the life that he can afford to live thanks to having a decent job. And he’s not the only one.

Can’t say no to money all the time.

There are hundreds (understatement of the year) of young professionals in India who’re doing their best to move up the ladder of financial stability. Yes, some of us take the sinister path and call it the ‘rat race’, but don’t you think it’s a little weird when we ignore the key question – why are they racing? Simple. Everyone wants a better life.

So, what is this ‘better’ life?

For some, the definition of better can be a more relaxed, chilled out life with a couple of vacations thrown in every year. For some, it could be a job that pays you for doing what you love. But we always seem to ignore the ‘every day’ man for whom the definition of better is usually not having to suffer from the things they did earlier in life due to lack of money. There are people out there for whom ‘stable’ is the ideal life, because the alternative is scary as hell, and they know it, because they’ve seen it. When they can bring that stability into their lives, or in the lives of those who depend on them, they experience a sense of fulfillment that no vacation or luxury purchase can compete with.

You might argue, that deep inside, everyone wants to travel and explore new places, and that the only reason some don’t do it is because they either don’t have the time and/or the money. But how do you know what others want? Agreed, traveling is not as expensive as it was a decade ago, but how do account for people who enjoy being at home all the time? Do we ignore them simply because they don’t exist in the world of the marketer, who only knows consumers? Or do we ignore them because we can’t seem to figure them out? God knows, people can be pretty awkward towards those who they cannot seem to label.

It’s okay to not want what they’re selling.

So here’s my message to you – if your idea of having a good time does not involve traveling or partying or clubbing (please contain your baby seal jokes), you’re not alone. It’s totally okay to not want those things in life. At the end of the day, it’s all about doing what makes you happy. If that means working your ass off to fulfill some long term goal, so be it.

Some people live from from weekend to weekend, or vacation to vacation. They’re the sprinters. If that isn’t for you, you can be the marathon runner instead.