The Social Imaginary

We have this idea that if we haven't met a certain standard like bought a house by a certain age or don't have the picket fence around the house, that we perhaps failed in some way. And again, we don't even have to be consciously thinking about it to realize that this is a narrative or an expectation that we've inherited. It's just there in the air that we breathe and breathe so much expectation and hopes and desires. We have to at least stop and examine them and say, is this what it means to be successful? Or is this what I need for my happiness?