Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours.
Author | Photographer | CG Artist | Filmmaker
When we rely on things that are beneficial to us in one way, but bad for us in another, we can become trapped. And this feeling of being trapped can leave us miserable and indecisive because we convince ourselves that there’s nothing we can do. And while it is true that we may not be able to immediately quit a job or leave a dysfunctional relationship, one thing we can do is plan an exit strategy.
Excerpt from: Lessons Learned from The Path Less Traveled Volume 1
You can put yourself on a better path in life starting today, but it requires you to actually do some things.
You must stop perpetuating your own dissatisfaction with yourself, your career, your relationships, or your life by doing nothing. You must commit to no longer settling for the path of least resistance. You must commit to working towards your goals instead of relying on wishful thinking. And you must be willing to deal with life’s challenges without allowing yourself to be overcome by them.
Excerpt from: Lessons Learned from The Path Less Traveled Volume 1
The world has enough people acting badly, spewing negativity, and making life unpleasant for others – and every single one of them feels justified for doing so.
We can do better. In every single one of your encounters today – whether online or in the real world – look for ways to support & encourage people. Seek out opportunities to make others smile. And put in the effort to create memories worth having.
Remember that every person you encounter has feelings. And that sometimes the person you think might have no need for your kind words & encouragement is the one that could use them the most.
It is such a sad fact that it often isn’t until a person dies that others feel compelled to talk about how great they were or how much of a difference that person made in their life.
Appreciate the living
Think about someone you care about. Now imagine for a moment what it might be like to be them. Do you think they feel appreciated by you?
If you ever have any doubt as to whether someone you care about feels appreciated by you, don’t hesitate to tell them how much they mean to you and why.
You may never know how much your kindness & appreciation means to someone, but if you don’t express it when you can, you may never get another chance.
Due to its often controversial or novel nature, false information spreads faster than facts. And this is exacerbated by the fact that people are much more inclined to share information that affirms their beliefs – without questioning its accuracy – than they are to share anything that casts doubt on what they assume is true.
Always keep in mind that it is not just what you know, but how you know what you know that matters. Not every source from which you receive news & information is accurate. If you don’t occasionally question what you know and where you learned it, you leave no room to discover that what you believe to be true is actually false.
In the modern world where controversy drives engagement and engagement ensures advertising revenue, people are much more likely to be presented with false, inaccurate, deceptive, or fictional information than they are with facts.
Just because it sounds good doesn’t make it true. Always seek the whole truth, not just the version that pleases you.
People who hate on other people often justify their actions with “they deserve it”. And by doing so, they excuse themselves for their own bad behavior. Because “It isn’t really bad behavior if the other person deserved it, is it?”
And so we have one person hating on another person. And another person hating on another. And another on another. And so on. And everyone excuses themselves for their negative behavior.
If your negative words or actions were directed at someone you love, would you excuse them as easily as you do when you direct them at those you think deserve it?
If it makes you feel good to put other people down, what does that say about the kind of person you are? And is that who you truly want to be?
My heart goes out to every walking wound and broken heart who still chooses to be a source of light despite a world that repeatedly shows you darkness. Your struggles are rarely seen and the degree of pain you’ve experienced in life is felt by few. And as much as what you do goes unnoticed and unappreciated, you keep pushing forward with love, light, and kindness instead of apathy or darkness. You are truly heroes.
