Tiered Prerequisites - Alternate Routes to Happiness

Let's talk about Prerequisites. Specifically, Tiered Prerequisites. Now, let me explain what I mean by that. Let's say that you want A, but to get A, you first have to get B. That means B is a prerequisite for A. If we want to add another tier (which we don't, because it'll only complicate things, but let's do it anyway), we could say that in order to get B, you must first get C. That makes C a prerequisite for B, and indirectly, C is also a prerequisite for A.

I recently had an experience with tiered prerequisites that was a little more complicated. In order to take Math 300, I first need to pass either Math 120 or Math 124 (or get a high score on an assessment test, but that didn't happen, so I have to work my way up the tier system). In order to take Math 124, I need to pass Math 123. In order to take Math 120 or Math 123, I need to pass either Math 100 or Math 104, and to take Math 104, I need to pass Math 103. According to my Assessment test results, I am ready to take Math 100 or Math 103, so I can start working my way up the tier from there. But I really wish someone had explained this to me before I signed up for Math 300.

In life, you need to know where you want to go, or you'll never get anywhere. But even knowing where you want to end up isn't always enough. You often also need to know how to get there. It's important to decide that you care about finding true happiness, but then it becomes critical to find out what it'll take to get it.

Let's see if we can figure this out. To find true happiness, you need to live a good life, which probably involves raising a family. To support a family, you need money. To get money, you need a job. To get a good job, you need an education, which apparently includes Math 300.

But maybe there's another way. In the Math 300 tier tree, there were a few choices (e.g. To get Math 300, you need Math 120 or Math 124), maybe there are alternate routes up this tier tree, too. Maybe a person can get a good job even without a full education. We know people can get money without having a job (but that's not an option for people like us). Are there ways to have a good life that don't involve raising a family? Can you find true happiness, even if your life isn't so good?

I'm not sure. I'm one of those kinds of optimists who think that everything will turn out alright eventually somehow. And if a loving, all-powerful God is in charge of that kind of thing, then maybe there's a reason to have hope even when everything is falling apart. Maybe God's plan for my Eternal Happiness doesn't involve X, Y, or Z, which I currently think are essential. Maybe I need to let go of everything I think I know about life and just trust God and try to do what He wants me to do. If He has a plan for my Eternal Happiness and I do my best to follow it, I'm pretty sure I'll get there eventually somehow.

I guess what I'm saying is that life seems really complicated, and we probably make it more complicated than it needs to be. If Earth life isn't all that matters, maybe I shouldn't get so worked up when it doesn't seem to be going well. As the Savior taught:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

Matthew 6:19-21

 God knows the best paths to happiness. I know that I'll get there somehow. But only if I follow Him.