Here’s one of my wishes for you: I hope that you will learn to trust yourself.

Trust that you know what's right for you. Trust your inner voice whenever it speaks up to say, "This feels right," or "This feels wrong." Trust that you are worthy of your joys. Trust in your purpose.

Trust in you — because you are wonderful.

With love...

Old Happy: You must stick to a prescribed, predictable path.
New Happy: You can follow your heart and pursue what matters most to you.

When you trust yourself, you trust that your hopes and your dreams are yours for a reason. And instead of ignoring them, you follow them. Because when you don't, you might be left wondering, "What if?" and "If only..."

I know this can be so challenging, especially living in our Old Happy world that tells us to stick to the "right" path. There are things that you are supposed to do. If you stray away from them, you risk so much: facing difficult emotions, opening yourself up to critique and teasing, disappointing people, losing what you have, and so much more.

But what do you risk if you ignore your dreams?

You risk you. You risk the you that has this dream. You risk the you that pursuing this dream will help you to become.

There are real risks associated with pursuing your dreams. But the risk to you is not one of them. In fact, studies have found that we tend to regret the things that we don't do — we regret ignoring our dreams. And here's some more comfort: if you try something, and it doesn't work out, studies also show that you are likely to adapt to the situation, learn from it, and even turn it into a source of meaning. No matter what happens as you pursue your dreams, you are going to be just fine.