• Why am I not happy?
• What is it about my job that stresses me out?
• How come I keep getting in arguments with my friends?
• Where did the last year of my life go?

If you have ever found yourself asking questions like these, you are not alone. I have asked myself every one of these questions a multitude of times over the past five years. Constantly questioning my decisions, my beliefs, and myself. Never once taking the time to sit back and focus on the things that are truly important in life. With every new pacifier I tried, the problems only seemed to get worse. Video games and television didn’t work as a kid. And as I grew older, seemingly better pacifiers became available; drugs, sex, alcohol, food… each on bringing less fulfillment than the last. A chain of rusty links breaking apart as the corroded values and beliefs crumbled. I couldn’t seem to shake the depression. But that wasn’t even the most frustrating part. I was more upset that I didn’t know Why.

Have you ever been sick or injured but didn’t want to go see a doctor about it? Or even worse, you went to the doctor and they told you nothing was wrong? To me, it is much worse to live in the darkness of pain. Once you shine a light on your problems and know why they are happening, you can begin to deal with them. Today I’m here to share with you, the people who turned on that light for me. Their names are Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus, and Leo Babauta. The former, running an amazing website at theminimalists.com and Leo, the latter, can be found writing at zenhabits.net.

Together, those two websites have added more value to my life than every year of school I went to, combined. Given, I was no good at school. But over the past six months, I have learned more and grown faster than I ever did as a child. There are thousands of essays between the two websites on every subject under the sun, and they are all thought provokingly positive. Today the Minimalists released their beautiful documentary which features brief snippets with Leo and other minimalists (it brought tears to my eyes on more then one occasion). If you want to see the documentary for free, send me an email and I will get it to you. I believe it is something worth sharing.

My life has taken an enormous turn in 2016 and I have a ton of people to thank for it. My family, first and foremost, I would not have grown up to be the person writing this without your continuing love and support. I know I’m bad about calling sometimes but know that I think of you everyday. My friends, I have met and lost a great many of you in the pursuits of pacifiers, but you too are like family to me, and I wouldn’t be here without your help either. And of course the previously mentioned minimalists, and all of the thoughts, wisdom, and people they have introduced me to.

Today, thanks to the help from all of you, I can say with confidence, I am happy. I am content. And I love myself exactly the way I am, right now. I also love all of you out there, exactly as you are, no changes required, you are all uniquely you, and that’s why you are awesome! I’ll end with Joshua’s favorite words of wisdom. “Love people, and use things. Because the opposite, never works.”