“Don’t try to be happy. Just be happy because happiness doesn’t depend on others.”

Vishwas Chavan, Indian author, facilitator and life coach

“How many of you own a vehicle?” he asked, and we all raised our hands.

“How many of you own a home?” he asked, and most of us raised our hands.

“How many of you own your life?” he asked, and we all looked at each other.

I was attending a self-esteem workshop, and the topic was self-responsibility. The facilitator explained that we could be “owned” by our work, our passions, our need for validation and acceptance, and even our need to be liked. He told us that if we wanted a different, purposeful and rewarding life, we would have to own it. At the time...

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