Most people do not live the same life as they would like. Instead, they live as they should or as expected. The main motivation is to create the appearance that they are cool. And in most cases, their dreams are lost somewhere in the process.

![sunset-2427003_1920.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRfFMbJXLxSB2Jajzk8fbarCbN9zEfnLQMzo5AUy9v4TP/sunset-2427003_1920.jpg)

As a result, health is undermined, because all this pretense is very exhausting. They abuse substances to change the situation. Their relationship suffers. Vision is clouded, emotional health is unbalanced.

Even those who seem to have everything, often just pretend. As the American writer Seth Godin once said: "The problem is that our culture involves a deal like the one Faust concluded: we sell our genius and artistry for visible stability."

Envy is difficult to attribute to positive qualities. As businessman John Westenberg said: "The time that you spend on envy, people spend on work."

But you can build a life that will make people look around and become someone's ideal. Because, although everyone defines happiness in their own way, there are five common denominators:

Strong, meaningful relationships with friends and family;
Life-giving work that changes something;
Confidence and pride;
Financial independence;
Durable heritage.