Getting Rid of the Greener Grass Syndrome

There was a time that as I peeked into other people’s lives, I assume that somehow my story is harder. I look at some people and figure that, for whatever reason, they have it easier than I do. Other times I look at people and know I just don’t want what they have.

I vividly remember a time in my life when I looked at the “older” people which are my age right now and was so glad that I wasn’t in their shoes. Being past a certain age and not having it all planned out like you want it was a horrifying thought to me. I was positive that I would never be one of those people who gave up their dreams of being on top of the professional ladder, having the luxury homes and cars and a small family of 3 for something as trivia as passion or calling. I would think to myself, “Nope. Not me. My story is going to be different. I just know that I’ll be a dental specialist by 30 and enjoy all the pleasures of life I had dreamed of as a little girl. No worries for me.”

Oh. Was I ever wrong.

God had a completely different story written for my life. The “living life the way I wanted it” was not in His plan. I felt completely out of place when I discovered this. Have you ever felt that way? I sure have. I started to have what you will call the greener grass syndrome.

What is the greener grass syndrome?

It is a state of the mind where your life often appears boring or mundane compared to your friends. You start to idealize the lives of others and falsely believe yours is less. You peek into other’s lives and believe they are better off than you are. It often seems like there is always something better that you are missing. So rather than experiencing fulfillment, you feel there is more and better elsewhere. With the greener grass syndrome there is always one foot out the door from God’s will for your life. Now, the  problem with this feeling is that it is usually based on fear. The fear comes from several possibilities, including fear of being trapped, fear of boredom and  fear of loss of individuality.

For me, the very hardest thing I had to deal with when accepting the plan of God for my life , is the fear of the unknown future. Did you catch that? The fear of the unknown future. Having absolutely no idea what your future holds can be slightly terrifying. For me at that time it began to look like there are no guarantees. Like there isn’t a plan, clue or writing on the wall telling me, “Just hold on for a few more years.” 

That scared me a lot. It tempted me to worry. These thoughts were constantly trying to squeeze into my brain and tempt me out of God’s plan for my life.

“What if I’m stock  with a life I don’t enjoy forever?”

“What if people feel sorry for me?”

 “What if I just keep getting older and older and older and nothing to show for it?”

  “Where do I go from here?”

So what did I do? I stood up and held on to the truth that  “I don’t know all that my future holds, but I do know who holds it. God started to show me things about my future and what He had in stuck for me and I knew He is the only person I want in charge of my future. Over this past year I’ve seen God do some incredible things in my life. I know that if He wanted me to have the kind of life I dreamt of before understanding purpose, I would. He obviously has a different plan. Knowing that He purposely has me along this path in life encourages my heart and makes me excited. He has a plan for my life. I’m not in some “in-between” stage waiting for my life to begin. My life is happening right now. Your life is happening right now too.

The question is, what will you do with the time that God’s given you?

Serve God.

Serving God brings so much joy and fulfillment. It forces you to take your eyes off of yourself and what you don’t have, and puts them on Christ’s purposes and on others needs. If I could recommend one thing for you to do during this time it would be this: Have a God-centered vision and serve Him with your life. Don’t sit around waiting for your life to begin. Start living and thriving right now. You have so much to offer this world. You will be shocked by how little you want other people’s life when you are working for Christ.

Let’s get rid of the “greener grass syndrome” right now. I am challenging you to be honest with yourself, I had to come to terms with that.  So here I am today. I’m one of “those people” that I promised myself I would never be. I’m living a life that I never could have imagined. Am I happy? Absolutely. Do I love my life? For sure! Would I trade it? No way.