Life Quote
of the Day
“Be Yourself people don’t have to like you,
and you don’t have to care.” Unknown
When I was a kid, I would come home from
school crying to my parents about some of the cruel things that my classmates
would say about me. I was mostly teased about my skin color being too dark. My
mother would tell my brothers and I to say to the kids who teased us; “Sticks
and stones my break my bones, but words could never hurt me.”
I bet there is not a single person reading
this post who was not told this saying as a child. But, most importantly-- did
you find out later that this little saying could not be further from the truth?
The quote of the Day “Be Yourself people
don’t have to like you, and you don’t have to care.” Ahhh—no
we don’t have to care but how other people feel about us—however, unfortunately,
our earth suit has been designed for us to care about what other people think
of us. (Man, I wish I could disconnect this button.)
If you think about most of the most hurtful
things that happened to you, I bet the things that hurt the most was not when
you cut your finger while chopping onions; or when you fell off your bike going
downhill; or when you dropped the can of beans on your baby toe. The most
hurtful thing that have ever been done to you is probably something that a teacher,
friend, mate, or parent has said to crush your soul intentionally or not
intentionally.
People tell you to be yourself. However,
this is not what they really mean. Society says be yourself—but you need to be
this size and weigh this amount in order to be considered physically
attractive. Parents say be yourself. But what they really mean is, “I want you
to be yourself within the unstated boundaries of following the life course that
I find acceptable. I hope that being yourself does not mean that you are going
to be an artist, actor, or waitress.”
We as a society tell people every day to be
themselves—but we don’t really mean it all.
Your mate tells you, I want you to be
yourself, but… I hate the way you smack your food when you are eating. I don’t
like how flirtatious you are with other people. (You called it charming when
you first met.) I don’t like the fact
that you watch sports all day or reality television shows. Even though this
person had these characteristics when you first started dating them… over time,
when we are comfortable in the relationship we start to ask people to change.
We begin to tell them that being why you are is… frankly not enough.
We learn early in life that being our true
selves has negative consequences. The first people we learn to please are our
parents. When we eat when we are not hungry, our parents praise us. When we share our toys and candy, that we really (really) did not want to share our parents praise us. The more we
give in to our parent’s wishes the more it seems like they smile at us, play
with us, and show us affection.
We learn early in life that our perception
of self, self-worth, and self-esteem are tied to how other people view us—not how
we view ourselves, not what we really want to do. Then we spend the rest of our
adult lives trying to find balance… trying to reconnect to our authentic truth. Most of us have no idea who we are or what we believe in by the time we are 7-years-old.
How do you find the courage to be yourself—when
the whole world is telling you who you should be? Here are some pointers to
consider.
Life
Quotes | Practical Application
1.
Only 1% of the population are truly being
themselves. And I guarantee you that these are people who reside in mental
institutions. They don’t wear clothes when they don’t feel like it; they release
themselves publicly; they don’t use utensils when eating mashed potatoes—they do
whatever they want --whenever they feel like—except escape from the mental hospital.
None of us are completely being ourselves. Find balance with being who you are
and how it affects the people around you. Yes, we all want to indulge in an
adult melt down every now then—but what are the consequences?
2.
One day you are going to leave this planet. What
do you want new inhabitants of this planet to know about your stay on Earth? I believe that when we say “be yourself” our
collective higher selves are asking you to be clear about your soul’s purpose
on this mission, and then execute without a single doubt, the biblical
scripture “to thine own self be true.” Being yourself ultimately means that you
must believe in yourself—even if no one else does. The next time you tell
someone to be himself or herself, contemplate within your own spirit what your
true expectations are. Do you really mean it?
3.
People
who love you may have the best intentions, and think they know what you should
do with your life. Only listen to people under these critical circumstances:
Are they living their own dreams? Or are they living a life created for them by
other people? Do they live in fear of failure? Have they accomplished their
highest aspirations? Do they love you unconditionally, win, or lose? Have they
ever done what you want to do? Do they live outside of their comfort zones? Are
they an expert in what you want to do? What do they want in exchange for your
obedience? What will they gain or lose directly and indirectly from you becoming your
own greatest version of yourself?
~~~
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