There is a moment in life where we are forced to come to a self-realization, which is that we are truly and inevitably alone in this world. Each human being is the author of their own story and the main character of their own film. Of course, we have people that form a part of our story like our friends and family members; the supporting characters in our life story. However, when it comes to achieving our life goals, it is often easy to rely on these supporting characters for inspiration. We rely on our parents to approve of our dreams. We rely on our friends to approve of who we are. And we rely on the world to have a place for us in it.
For me this moment began when I reached adulthood. Being a young adult in this world is quite confusing and stressful. Google defines the word “young-adult” as “a person in their teens or early twenties.”
Which basically means it is a point in life where you still feel like a teenager, yet you begin to have all the responsibilities that adults do, which can suck for the most part. It can be easy to lose track of the reasons you are working so hard towards your goals because we come across experiences that seem overwhelming, there are a lot of things happening at the same time and it can be hard to keep up. You go through so many trials and errors in such a short period of time that you can’t help but compare yourself to others and feel like everyone around you is always one step ahead.
Eventually, you will question:
“Why does it seem like the world keeps happening without me?”
This feeling will make you question your career path, it will make you question your future and create doubt in who you are and what you are capable of.
But rest assured, there is a way to stop this feeling or at least learn how to control its power over you. You need to learn to seek inspiration within yourself. You need to become your OWN inspiration. You need to stop relying on others to tell you how amazing you are and truly begin to believe it for yourself. It is crucial that you stop selling yourself short and protect your dreams.
How? Well that’s the hard part. I am not an expert in the science of teaching people how to become their own inspiration. However, I will share this speech given by one of my favorite actors, Matthew McConaughey. In his best-actor acceptance speech at the 86th Oscars in 2014, he recalled that there are three things in life that he needs each day. First thing is something to look up to, second thing is something to look forward to, and third thing someone to chase. What struck me the most of the three things is that the person he chases each day is technically himself, except that person is him 10 years from now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD2cVhC-63I
(Skip to minute 1:52 for the best acceptance speech ever)
So, there is a loophole to the whole “seeking inspiration within yourself.” You just have to chase that person that you want to be every single day. The only way you will be able to do this by allowing yourself to be the author of your own narrative and take control. Sure, we can never control many of the bad things that happen to us, but we can control how we recover from these unfortunate things. We can choose whether or not we will allow them to destroy us or give us some character development.
With this being said, ask yourself: “Who do I want to be 10 years from now and am I currently chasing that person?”
Having the answer to that question is the first step to becoming your number one fan. It is the first step of learning how to inspire yourself. Protect your dreams, be who you really are and create your own place in this world.
If you would like to reach out to me about this subject feel free to email me at bianca.candelaria@spartans.ut.edu
Take care and until next time lovelies!
-B