Childhood. That seemingly distant part of our lives that we no longer seem to associate with, or relate to at all – many of us too preoccupied to remember the freedom and innosence of our existence that was our entire reality when we were young. Our purpose as children was to live our lives to the fullest within the tiny scope of what we knew the world to be. I had a realization a few days ago, and it had to do with the games I played as a child.

Playing is part of every kid’s life. The games we played developed with us, and we got better at them as we got older and even started to learn new games. Then we started to share games, and play games together as teams. What amazes me, however, is that the games we played were played on our own terms. If you hear a child try to explain to you their game, it often makes little sense to us, but to them, it is perfectly clear. They make the rules, and they play their game… and nothing can replace the happiness they feel when they play it.

Now, my purpose for introducing this article the way I have is that as children, we were naturally tempted to break the rules to find our happiness. We made up our own games, and played them without regard for what people thought. What I hope to share is this notion that to find fulfilment in your life, you must play your game. You must find that happiness that you feel when you realize YOUR dreams. The process by which we realize those dreams may be hard, but your overarching purpose becomes the driving force that keeps you going. Like for any player of any game, the purpose does not shift until the final whistle is blown… keep playing your game.

That level of fulfillment is not reached by allowing ourselves to be molded into a system that we think we must conform to to be successful. Rather, we MUST find ways to invest our time and our energy in life towards the things that inspire us – the things that make us feel fulfilled. Now, that is not to say that we must disregard our context to find happiness. There are obviously much stricter “parameters” within which we must play our game of life. There is, however, a neccesity for us to make sure that we do so with our heart’s inclinations, not the inclinations we feel as a result of the pressures around us, whether economical, social, political, or even personal.

So how do you do that? How do you operate within the confines of reality, while finding our own joy as well? Passion. Light the spark that starts your fire and let that fire burn. If your purpose and passion are clear, your fire will warm everyone who encounters it. That feeling is contagious, and you can not stop the spread of joy when in such a scenario. Follow the call in your gut that tells you to take a risk, and maybe you push the boundries of what it means to be “right.” That is the mark of the people who have “made it”. They believed in their game so much, that other people wanted to play too.

Find your game, because life is too short not to have fun. Live a life that you know you built for yourself, so that when you score a point, you can rejoice in the happiness that you invested in as a child.

#zuluechoinitiative