Dandelions, Orchids and Tulips: An Optimistic Message

Photo by Vero Manrique on Unsplash

Through my work, I share a remarkably simple message:

Some humans are basically going to be alright no matter what. They arrive on this Earth happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. They'll leave this Earth happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. They don't really have to work at it.

Others of us (me included) have to put a bit more effort in. Happiness isn't our out-of-the-womb set point (or we lose access to it somewhere along the way). Fulfillment isn't guaranteed for us. It's something we have to seek out.

And... it's an optimistic message. Because my message rests on this foundation: once you know which camp you belong in, you can take appropriate action.

If you're going to be happy and fulfilled no matter what — rock on. Enjoy your "dandelion" lifetime. Celebrate this being an area of life that's easier for you than it is for others. It doesn't mean you'll have an easy life or that each day will be sunshine and unicorns, just that happiness and fulfillment aren't areas you have to invest much time, energy, or effort in.

If happiness and fulfillment are something you have to work at — delight in the permission slip you just received. Because you, as a "human orchid," have the highest capacity for thriving. You just have to ensure that you "plant" yourself in the right environment and tend to your needs a bit more meticulously than dandelions have to.

If you're a dandelion, be a dandelion.

If you're an orchid, be an orchid.

If you're a tulip, be a tulip.

There's no better or worse human archetype to be. There are pros to being a dandelion, there are pros to being an orchid, and there are pros to being a tulip.

No matter where you fall along the "high life satisfaction in any environment" to "environment needs to be a certain way to thrive" spectrum, you were built perfectly.

But if you're an orchid looking around at people who are going to be happy no matter what, feeling like there's something wrong with you because you're not that way — life's going to be an uphill battle.

So please don't do that.

Learn your archetype. Learn what your particular version of a human needs to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled.

Then offer your human animal those things, just as you would tenderly attend to the needs of a precious baby or an adorable puppy in your care.

You deserve to be treated that well and better. 

Love,

Keely