“Whenever you are happy with something in your life, it is because right now, the conditions of your life match your blueprint, or your belief about how life should be in that particular area.”

Have you always imagined that you would be married with children by a certain age? Or that you would be further along in your career than you are today? What other beliefs do you have about what your life should look like?

While you may not have the traditional blueprint for your life that includes going to a good school, getting a good job, finding the right person, having children and living happily ever after, odds are you still cling to one archetype — that in order to truly believe you are enough, you have to achieve an enormous amount.

We live in a culture that teaches people that you are not good enough unless you do something really special and unique. But our definition of what qualifies as special or unique is distorted. Why do we not consider a school teacher unique? Why do we look at stay-at-home mothers as being just housewives, when many are working tirelessly to nurture and raise the future of the world? Doesn’t that deserve to be called “special”?

The expectations we set have become almost unrealistic. And while goals and dreams are important for every individual to have and aspire to, it’s dangerous to tie our happiness to the blueprint we have created for our lives.

Think about it. Whenever you are happy with something in your life, it is because right now, the conditions of your life match your blueprint, or your belief about how life should be in that particular area.

But here’s the downside. If the formula for happiness is to be able to meet your expectations, then what makes you feel bad? What creates pain, stress and frustration in your life? That’s right — when the way you are living your life today does not experience pain.

Of course, this can work to your benefit. A lot of very successful people are motivated by the fear of never closing the gap between where they are and where they want to be. And they are motivated to do something about it. But here’s where it can become dangerous — when you convince yourself that you cannot do anything about it.

Look at the story of Enhamed Enhamed, a world-class swimmer from Spain who has been blind since the age of 8 years old. Enhamed went through a dark period in which his limiting beliefs told him he could not achieve what he had set out to because of his visual impairment. He became self-conscious and self-doubting, believing that his life conditions made it impossible for him to be who he wanted to be.

Enhamed was not only in a place where his life did not match his blueprint, but he had convinced himself that he had no control to change it. And because of this, he suffered immensely.

His turning point came after reading Awaken the Giant Within. Enhamed had realized that his blindness had become his excuse rather than a reason to inspire change. He saw that he had become locked into a mindset that kept from making any progress. And because he knew he could not change the conditions of his life, he made the command decision to change his blueprint. When you suffer, that is a signal for you to look at your blueprint. You have two options: either change your life, that is, do something to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Or, if you can’t change your life, change your blueprint.

When Enhamed decided to let go of his old story and create a new one, his entire life began to change. He was able to ease his suffering, transcend his limiting beliefs, face his fears, and find an extraordinary life.

Today, Enhamed is considered the best Paralympic swimmer in history, having won four gold medals in the Beijing games and two in the Athens Paralympic games. He now serves as a coach and shares his life story which has helped inspire and motivate individuals from across the world.

Enhamed now describes the moment he became blind as “the day I won my blindness.” He realized that sometimes failing to achieve what you had believed was your path can ultimately get you to your destiny. And that most importantly, no matter what happens in life, you are always more than that moment — and more than the story you have created.