There are a ton of expectations for us in this world. We’re expected to go to school, graduate, and get a nine to five job. We’re expected to buy a house and have a family, but what if the things you want most in life are completely different from the expectations?
I struggled with societal expectations my entire life. I was constantly worried about what I should be doing or what was expected of me by friends and family. I didn’t pursue the paths that truly interested me because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Never mind the fact that I was disappointing myself.
Why did I let my desires take a backseat to the expectations of others? Maybe it’s because I was taught to please others. Maybe it’s because I never thought of my voice as important enough to matter. Maybe it’s because deep down I thought I had little value in this world.
I don’t really matter … that was the story I told myself again and again. It didn’t matter if it was true or not. For me those words were a convenient excuse–a cop-out. They allowed me to live small and not put my heart and soul into anything. They allowed me to live a life that I’d been assigned instead of choosing my own life.
That whole situation ended up not really being good for anyone. I was miserable, and because I was miserable I was unable to be the best friend, daughter, or wife I could be. I was moving through this world trying desperately to be someone I was not and just ending up feeling desperate all the time.
There is no payoff in trying to be someone you’re not. It doesn’t make anything better. It might make life seem a bit easier on the surface, but in reality what you’re sacrificing is worth so much that life isn’t really easier at all.
Life is short. When you’re young it seems like you’ll live forever. As you get older forever starts to go by really fast.
I’ve stopped living the life that other people want me to live. I took some time to really examine what I was doing with my life and realized that it was all wrong for me.
What do you really want? What are your passions? What are your dreams? Are you being authentic and living in a way that truly reflects your character? If you’re not you’re selling yourself short. If you’re not you’re robbing this world of your gifts.
You are a unique individual who has a lot to offer to this world. If you are feeling the pull to follow a certain path, but ignore that, what exactly are you ignoring? You’re ignoring an opportunity to explore the possibilities that lay in front of you.
The future is wide open. The decisions you’ve made in the past have gotten you to the point you’re at today. If you start making different decisions right now, you’ll be building a new future for yourself. Let’s make that future one that is full of passion, inspiration, and a zeal for life.
Imagine the possibilities and then take the necessary actions to make those possibilities realities.
Be yourself. The world will just have to adjust.