Allow yourself TO BE yourself

in #motivational6 years ago
We are living in fast times and leading fast lives. Time really does fly and before you know what is what it is already tomorrow, it is already a new year, a new decade and what have you done in your life? What have you done for yourself? We all have those weeks when we turn around on Sunday and wonder where did the week go and how was it possible that it went by so fast. There are Sundays when we can look back and say that we are satisfied with how we spent our last seven days. I hope you have a lot of those.


CC0 licence, Pixabay, author: AngelinaUloma , adapted by me

Life is a funny thing. It is like you make it to be. I do not want to hear any excuses here, you are a creator and no, your parents, society, politicians or the media are not responsible for who you are. They may have influenced you but you were the one that always had and has the last word with your decisions. There are people who succeed despite of worst circumstances and those that fail even though everything was perfect. It is always up to you and only you. But... Who are you?

Have you ever heard the story about a father, son and a donkey? Here it is...

Once upon a time one father and his son went to a market to sell their donkey. The father was riding the donkey and son was walking beside them. When a group of people saw them, they were angry at them and started saying how the son should be riding the donkey. The father is already old and can not work and contribute anymore, the son is the one who should be resting so the son and father switched places. A bit later, a new group of people came and they too got angry. The new group told them that they were wrong and it is terrible the son is riding while the old man is walking. It is easier for the son to walk because he is younger and stronger so the son and the father changed places again. Later on, the third group came and started laughing at them. They should both be riding the donkey, there is plenty of room on the animal and it looks strong enough to hold them so the son got up on the donkey and joined his father. Just before the market, the fourth group of people came and started screaming at them for torturing the animal with both of them being on it. They told them they should have walked just like the animal did so the father and the son got down and continued to the market while walking one on the one side and the other on the other side of the animal. When they got to the seller who was supposed to buy their donkey, the man told them that he was not going to buy the animal because if it was not able to carry people it was not able to carry any weight either so he would not have any use for it. He was very disappointed to see the animal came with no one on its back.

You will never be loved, appreciated or respected by everyone. There will always be people to disagree with you, some will even really really not like you. That is normal. It is impossible for everyone to like you. People are too different to have the same opinion about everything, why would they have it about you? There will always be those that do love you. There will always be those that enjoy your company. You are destined to fail if you are on a mission to be liked by everyone.

People have the right not to like you.

Do you like everyone? Agree with everyone and respect everyone? Do you get along with everyone equally? If you do not like everyone, isn't it hypocritical to expect that everyone will like you? Keep in mind that you will never be able to satisfy each person with your decision. Some will like you and some will not. Try to work on liking yourself first. Even if you have the best intentions and work with love and caution, there will always be those who oppose you in some way. Respect them for it. If nothing else, their critique can make you better.

Since I did mention critique, it is important to address it and make something very clear. Critiques and listening to other peoples opinions is very important. You should be able to take in different views, they will help you to reach a certain conclusion more objectively.

Every input is important.

Do you know who fanatics are? They are people who are refusing to hear outside information. To be able to reach a certain conclusion about anything, you need both inside and outside input. Inside input is your knowledge and opinion about something while the outside output is the knowledge and opinion of others. You need to take it both and mix them up like a salad to create a quality output or your conclusion. Always be ready and open enough to question your beliefs and be brave enough to question the beliefs of others. You have a mind for a reason. USE IT. Listen to others and listen to yourself and do not go to extremes. By relying solely on others will leave you dependent on others, incompetent and inefficient. Relying only on your own opinion and refusing critique or different views will lead to fanaticism and isolation. Every opinion is valuable, if nothing else, maybe it can show you what you do not want but at least be open enough to listen to it.

As we said earlier, you will never be able to satisfy everyone and as we said just a moment ago, you do need to be able to hear people out, even when they disagree with you. Having that in mind, having fear about what others will think or say about you is nor rational nor beneficial for your success and well-being.

Forget Everything And Run...
OR
Face Everything And Rise...

Not having any fear is not normal. You are supposed to have some fear now and again and it is healthy to be cautious in life. What you do with that fear is what matters. You can face it and use it as a helper or you can give up and see it as your enemy. When it comes to you being able to handle life and everything that it brings, you are your greatest obstacle and your biggest supporter. It all depends on your state of self-acceptance and self-realization. Do you know who you are and what you want?

We are all often searching for answers about everything that surrounds us and everyone we meet with forgetting to learn about ourselves. People are complex beings and there is so much that makes us who we are. The worst insult you can get from someone who has not seen you in a while is "You haven't changed."

Every person we meet, every situation we find ourselves in and every information we receive is supposed to shape us and help us grow. Change is the only constant thing in the Universe. We are always growing, learning and developing ourselves or at least we should be. Are we? We are if we choose so. It all always comes down to choice. At the end of the day, it all comes down to did we learn something and became better or not. Did we improve and are we better today than we were yesterday? That is the goal we should have in mind before making any decision. Will this decision make me better and lead me forward or backward?

Allow yourself TO BE yourself.

Find your passion, follow your heart and take your brain on that journey too. You are often stronger than you think and you are valuable to this world and the people in it. No one out there is like you and it is that uniqueness that makes you special, valuable and irreplaceable. This world needs you just like you need it but it needs what you really truly are. Have you found that yet? Without knowing who you are, it is impossible to grow just like without knowing where you are, it is impossible to find your way to any other place. Love yourself and allow yourself to be yourself.

Until next time,
KEEP YOUR SMILE ON!

Image sources AND LICENCES in order of appearance:

- all images used in this post are free for commercial use, they are royalty free with the links to original images provided under them
- line divider that I use is from FREE CLIPART LIBRARY, and is here
- title pictures are made by me using the CC0 images from pixabay that can be found here
- my bitmoji avatar was created on https://www.bitmoji.com/, visit the site to create yourown

PROUD MEMBER OF:


@steemitbloggers

Sort:  

Congratulations! Your post was selected by the @dropahead Curation Team (dCT)

I really liked the approach you made towards this interesting discussion. We become wiser a person when we learn to accept that not always the people around us will agree with what we think. Sometimes the people might just oppose us and we have to learn that it is a normal thing in life.

Allow me to make a funny question :) What has been the hardest time you have had when facing the opposition of someone you knew to one of your ideas?

P.S. Mine was with my wife when we were choosing the name of our son. Today I think that hers was the better call :)

Best regards.


@dropahead - Supporting your STEEM adventure

Quality review by the dropahead Curation Team

According to our quality standards(1), your publication has reached an score of 89%.

Well said Gabriel García Marquez: "One learns to write by writing" Keep trying, you will soon achieve excellence!

(1) @dropahead's quality standards:

- Graphic relation to the text (Choice of images according to the text)
- Order and coherence
- Style and uniqueness (Personal touch, logic, complexity, what makes it interesting and easy to understand for the reader)
- Images source and their usage license

Ou, that is an interesting question and one that is impossible to have only one answer. I am surrounded with many different people, from different backgrounds and with a really different view about almost everything. Some have a very strong opinion about things they hold dear or believe in so discussions are always interesting. I am weird to them just like they are to me but we like each other despite our differences :D

I'm a glad that my question served the purpose of raising some experiences from your memory.
You're totally right, we can we alongside with people despite not being always on the same line in many subjects. Even more, we can be friends or even family as it is my case.
Cheers :)

This is such a brilliant piece of writing @zen-art and something that EVERYONE should read!!!

What have you done for yourself?

Funny, the older I have gotten, the more I consider myself in the equation. In fact, just today I was confronted with a VERY difficult situation and for once in my bloody life, I actually said NO, I will NOT allow this anymore, and I DESERVE better! So I stopped it in its tracks!

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that every moment that passes, is gone forever and we will blink and our lives will be over...

I wont expend my energy on people, places, or things that rob me or my life of joy!

I am so proud of you for learning to stand up for yourself and knowing when to say no. That is such a huge accomplishment and not everyone achieves that. Much love and keep enjoying life 💚

A wonderful, thought provoking post. I found myself wondering about "backwards" and "forwards" and "becoming better" and in relation to what....? All good. Thoughtful writing is arguably the most powerful. Thank you.

In relation to you from the past. Are you better today than you were yesterday? This means are you happier, more satisfied, healthier, wiser, smarter, kinder, more loving, more open... Always compare yourself only to yourself 💚

We are SO proud to have you as a member of our
FANTABULOUS @steemitbloggers family!
uvoted and resteemed!

❤ MWAH!!! ❤

interested in joining the Steemit Bloggers Community?

and I love you too 💚

This is awesome. No excuses! And nope we cannot please everyone. One of the best things I've done for myself was to stop giving a crap about what other people think of me. I still value critique from others, but I look at it much more objectively now rather than taking it personally and allowing others judgement to seep into my own judgement of myself. Being an observer of life has helped me practice this a ton. It's like more growth with less attachment, and it allows me to enjoy every moment so much more.
Thanks for this piece! Just terrific.

Yes, not taking stuff personally is important but instead approaching every input with respect and objectivity. I am happy that you learned that and proud of you. Keep on enjoying every moment 💚

Thank you, same to you! 🤩

This is a wonderful piece, a lot of things I know but sometimes lose sight of. I appreciated the reminders, and reading this was very timely for me.

Do you know who fanatics are? They are people who are refusing to hear outside information.

It seems as though I've been feeling quite invisible lately. I am experiencing this phenomenon where people talk at me, just talk, talk, talk, and I listen but they do not return the favor. I can see them impatiently waiting for me to finish my sentence so they can continue speaking at me. They close their ears to anything that I say. Strangers in the supermarket, my parents, relatives, it just seems chronic. I am yearning for meaningful conversation and feeling quite disconnected from most humans lately.

Growth and change is something we embrace and work on every day - I just loved everything you wrote here - beautiful piece of writing!

I am glad that this came just in time you needed it. I like this:

so they can continue speaking at me

Yes, some people will talk with you and some will talk AT you lol, I know some that are like that. Be patient and positive, I am sure that you will get your meaningful conversation soon, maybe even sooner than you think. You are already on the right path with setting your intention. Best of luck and much love! 💚

You could have written this post with me in mind lol. I worry too much about what people think and being rejected. I actually read that this is a tendency for someone with my astrological chart and whilst I don't put everything in the stars it did make me feel a little better because I have worked for a very long time trying to not give a fuck about what people think and being my own self and have the courage to do so and can never understand why this is so bloody difficult for me. My logical mind understands this perfectly and it would be the advice I give someone else lol. Well aren't we all works in progress we haha. Thanks babe for another informative and useful Post. Your post should be recommended reading for everyone

Posted using Partiko Android

We are all work in progress, that is kind of the entire point, right? Imagine how boring our lives would be if we were perfect and knew everything. Searching, learning and developing is what makes life fun and interesting. I am glad you enjoyed the post, much love 💚

💜💜💜💜💜

Posted using Partiko Android

Wow. Your writing always moves me. I really like how you say, "Find your passion, follow your heart and take your brain on that journey too." This is so important to me. Maybe that is why I look forward to all the travel we do.
Ren

That combination of emotion and rational thought is important, it includes not excludes and makes everything more interesting and valuable. Thank you for your lovely feedback 💚

You are most welcome. How could we not!

Beautiful advice and just what I needed to read today. I have really been battling with this lately. I really enjoyed your story with the Donkey. It makes so much sense to me now and I will remember it forever.

I am glad this came at the right time for you and that you got what you needed. Remember the donkey, always remember the donkey :)

Beautifully written!
And the the story - I had heard it as a child but it was nice reading it now!
Let it all go and allow yourself to flow, to love!
Have an amazing day!

You have an amazing and loving day yourself too! Thank you for your kind words 💚