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
It is perfectly acceptable to be proud of your progress on the way to your goal. You can enjoy your journey before you reach your destination. And you can be grateful your life as it is, plot twists and all.
Don’t wait to appreciate.
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If others in your life seem to have an easier time making friends or connecting with people — despite your interest in doing so — it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.
Or if you sometimes feel like no one truly understands or gets you, you’re not alone. Often, this means that “your people” — people like you — are less common (or at least less common where you are) or less likely to indiscriminately reveal their true self to others.
And as much as you may, at times, appreciate your solitude (or not), this lack of connection can sometimes lead to feelings of loneliness or sadness. At times like this, it’s important to appreciate yourself for who you are and to recognize your value as one of your people. Because someone else is out there — who may occasionally feel the same way — and they’re looking to connect with someone just like you.
Be there for them so they do.
Excerpt from: Likability. Being liked and unliked.
If you want to self-actualize (reach your fullest potential), then you must learn to accept yourself for who you are & who you want to be and take personal responsibility for your life and how you feel.
And along the way to self-actualization, you must be prepared to be unpopular. Don’t leave your sense of worth and well-being in the hands of others.
Those who achieve greatness in life don’t let others dictate how they feel about themselves — and neither should you.
When you are feeling weak, always take a moment to remind yourself that you are a survivor of every hardship you’ve ever faced in life. You’ve consistently overcome the worst that life has thrown your way, year after year after year.
No one feels strong 100% of the time. Even the people you look up to and respect most in the world have been knocked down, felt unwell, or needed time to just breathe.
Life can be hard – resist the urge to beat yourself up further when it is. It’s ok to not be ok. Give yourself the time & mental space necessary to get better by refusing to focus on things that make you feel worse.
You will overcome whatever you are dealing with now, as you have with everything you’ve previously faced. This is but a very small part of your life. In the grand scheme of things, you’re doing ok. Keep going.
Many times, how you think about the things holding you back hold you back more than the things themselves. For example: criticism.
It isn’t criticism that holds you back, it’s how you choose to think & react to it that does. Always remember that how you choose to respond to criticism and negativity is a choice.
Ignoring criticism is an option that too few people take advantage of. The more that you consciously disconnect yourself from modes of thinking that hold you back, the more you free yourself to move forward unhindered.
Always keep in mind that no matter what you’re dealing with now, now is not forever. Repeat that. Now is not forever. Your life will change. Your feelings will change. Your attitude will change. And your circumstances will change.
Whatever you are dealing with now, hang in there and do whatever is necessary to manage this minute, this hour, or this day in as healthy & productive a way as possible and you will see that things will change.
Now is not forever – now is just a passing moment in your life. You can get through this.
Just a reminder: making yourself feel miserable about your mistakes is optional.
While acknowledging mistakes is important, beating yourself up over history won’t change the past, but focusing on what you learned from the experience and moving on in a productive fashion can change the future.
Life is hard enough already without abusing yourself for things you can’t change. Focus on positive progress by changing what you can.
