I have been contemplating lately about what actions and goals define us. Not in way of how we portray ourselves to others, because in all honesty, I couldn't care less - but what do we do that makes us, us? How do we define ourselves? Is it how we truly feel or are we influenced by some societal standards?
Let me explain - I heard many fancy quotes like 'We are what we repeatedly do...' and 'We are imperfect people loved by a perfect God' but something doesn't stick with me or, simply, I'm not fully grasping here. What if there's nothing that we repeatedly do or what if we repeatedly do something over a certain time period and then stop and what if we actually are perfect (in our own way), and just simply care too much about externalities? Why don't we just stop caring about what others think of us? I most certainly can't care anymore and I believe that we waste too much time on that.
Truth is, disappointments are unavoidable, or I should say obstacles are unavoidable but shouldn't we just go with the flow, whether that's a relationship disagreement or a misunderstanding at work, or even both? Isn't it all about growing and learning? Let things fall together without the stress and the pressure from the outside world. As a saying goes,
Let me explain - I heard many fancy quotes like 'We are what we repeatedly do...' and 'We are imperfect people loved by a perfect God' but something doesn't stick with me or, simply, I'm not fully grasping here. What if there's nothing that we repeatedly do or what if we repeatedly do something over a certain time period and then stop and what if we actually are perfect (in our own way), and just simply care too much about externalities? Why don't we just stop caring about what others think of us? I most certainly can't care anymore and I believe that we waste too much time on that.
Truth is, disappointments are unavoidable, or I should say obstacles are unavoidable but shouldn't we just go with the flow, whether that's a relationship disagreement or a misunderstanding at work, or even both? Isn't it all about growing and learning? Let things fall together without the stress and the pressure from the outside world. As a saying goes,
'Things change and shit happens all the time - fight them or embrace them!'
Okay I just made it up but I'll always choose to embrace!
Don't get me wrong, I'm a true believer in having the RIGHT people in our lives. My strong argument here is that we shouldn't get attached to people's opinions, and let them define us. Let things flow naturally - deep down we know what's best! Does this alienate us? As much as it may look like it, I don't believe it does!!!
People judge us for timings - everything needs to be rushed nowadays and everything needs to happen 'yesterday'. Today is someone who's still a junior in the firm in their early thirties, tomorrow is for that 36 year-old woman who haven't had a baby and the day after tomorrow is for that middle-aged man who still lives in a 15 sq.m flat whilst doing his PhD. This definitely doesn't mean that we can afford slacking off but why the rush and acceptance that we have failed - don’t overthink and try to force every single thing - let everything flow and cultivate organically!!!
Yes, time flies and we should make the most out of it, but we shouldn't get bogged down if something didn't work out as we expected (or, even worse, as someone else expected from us), chances are that it's for the better, it's a lesson learnt for the future - embrace it!
I can keep going but I hope that you get my point - what makes us, us, is only us without adhering to external demands or what we perceive is the norm based on some societal standards - so I'll leave it here and sign off with a powerful message that I wrote in my work notebook last summer and it goes something like this:
Go after dreams, not people. Love yourself and the rest will follow. Never lose your sense of wonder. You're capable of more than you know. No regrets in life, just lessons learnt. Your only limit is you. Life goes by in a blink, so live life!!!
In all the craziness, opportunities and fast-paced routine that we live by today, it's a matter of finding the right balance and perhaps, maybe perhaps, things are better than we think. Until the next time 😊