So you’ve made mistakes. Some of those have been disposing of “friends” who were never really friends at all. Others have brought you closer to those you never even thought really cared. And even more of those mistakes have helped to create who you are now while also showing you who you can be in the future. However, those mistakes still may haunt you like you never thought they could. Wouldn’t you rather live a life of “oh wells” than a life full of “what ifs”? I sure would…And I am.
Let’s just take a minute and reflect. What are your biggest regrets, your worst mistakes, and your biggest fears? Now, LET THEM GO. You cannot, I repeat CANNOT, hang on to regret and guilt. Change what you can change then accept what you cannot. It will bring you down and hurt you more than you know by living in the past or future rather than enjoying the present.
Not one person in this world is perfect. Even those who appear to be perfect are fighting their own battles every day. YOU and you alone are your own stop sign. If you decide that you’re good enough for you and your goals, you will achieve them and desire to achieve more.
If you don’t appreciate all that you are, and see all that you can be, then none of the praise and admiration about you from anyone else will matter. The goodness of heart is what needs to shine through. But, at the same time, the badness of heart can get in the way of this. Let your goodness be what drives you and allow your soul to be free of all malice and spite.
If you look at every obstacle as a reason to stop, then surely you will. But those challenges are what make you stronger and you were presented with them because you are strong enough to conquer them. You have to be willing to believe in yourself and show others why they should believe in you, too. Don’t let that be confused with owing someone something though. Your reasons are your own, and they will always be your own. You don’t owe anyone anything.
If you don’t enjoy the journey, then f*ck the destination. The best way to achieve happiness is to love what you’re doing; not hoping you’ll love the end result. The joy is in the doing. When you find something you love, don’t give it up for anything. If you find something you love more, go for it! If you don’t love doing it anymore, there’s no sense continuing something that only leaves you feeling empty. Start doing things for you.
When you give more than you get out of something, it leaves you with a need. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a material need…it doesn’t need to be a physical need…but your emotional needs are just as important. Do things for you. When you feel like you’re not happy giving as much as you think you want to be giving, stop. Just breathe and allow yourself to just be happy in each individual moment.
It can be good to ask questions. Not everything is going to make perfect sense from the beginning. Feed your curiosity. Be free in your thinking; don’t let others influence your potential for originality. We as humans have a natural desire for more. We want to know and we seek what we don’t even think we want to know. Trust your instincts though. You know when something isn’t right, and if you don’t listen to you why will anyone else?
Too often we become anxious because that job we don’t have yet is daunting. And those bills we don’t have to pay yet freak our bank accounts out. And our hopes and dreams of a beautiful healthy family scare the hell out of us. But why? Because we don’t know. We don’t know what’s going to happen more than we can plan and so we plan our lives away leaving little room for us to experience life the way we could.
Wondering “woulda, shoulda, coulda” doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you human. But just remember, in all this chaos, all of us trying to be “normal,” but there is no such thing as normal. There is just you. Things change, figure out where to go when it changes, don’t try to predict those changes. It will drive you crazy wishing you knew the future, and if you did know the future it would drive you to your grave either trying to change it or preserve it.
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
With that said, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU’RE NOT PERFECT. You are all beautiful and that’s what matters.