We perpetually struggle to find our goal in life, but we feel lost and empty inside.
We tend to forget that we don't have to get everything we want, then we can be happy because happiness is from within, not from outside. It's all about contentment and appreciation.
If we measure our success(destination)by comparing our life to others, we will never achieve it because there will always be someone else that is richer and smarter than us.
Instead, if we base our success on our contentment, we can live happily every day. Being contentment doesn't mean we stop developing or complacent, but that because we choose to be happy with what we already have while working toward our goal.
We can enjoy any experience during the journey because every moment in our life is so precious that we want to live to the fullest.
It's not about the destination, but it's about the journey.
"Sometimes, we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey."
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I believe that we all have been sent to live on this planet for a specific purpose; we all have our missions to accomplish. That's why our souls were put on this earth to be.
When we are young, we have an intuitive understanding of who we are and how we do things. But as we grow older, we stop listening to our inner voice, and instead, we do what others tell us to do.
We go to school and college to get a degree that we believe will help us find a good-paying job or work for a prestigious company. We do the things that we are supposed to do. But often we feel like something is missing.
I used to be the one who followed the path that I thought I was supposed to do. I just did anything that I had been told to do. I went to school, University, found the job, and worked with a prestigious company.
As time went by, I found myself wondering if it really what I want in my life? I thought I am more than my job. I can do something phenomenal, I have something to offer, and I can make a difference.
However, I was distracted by people I surrounded; I let their opinions and judgments influence me. So I didn't want to change because I didn't want to face the failures. I thought if I failed, they would judge me. I let the noise of others' opinions drown out my inner voice.
There comes a time when I have realized I have to stop living my life based on others think of me and start living for myself. I stop judging myself for others, and it doesn't matter what they think about me. What matters is what I think about myself.
I have decided to follow my heart, inner voice, and let them lead me to pursue my goal. When I discover my purpose in life, I feel my life has meaning and fulfilled. I no longer need to be filled from the outside or seek approval and validation from others.
"When you stop living your life based on what others think of you real life begins. At that moment, you will finally see the door of self-acceptance opened."
-Shannon L. Alder.
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."
-Nido Quien
I stumble on this quote that reminds me of myself in the past. I used to let the circumstances affect me; I thought whatever happened to me would block me from moving forward.
I thought I would get stuck in that situation forever. I felt my heart would never heal, and I would never get out of that impossible struggle.
I even beat up and blamed myself for whatever happened. I had been dwelling on the negativities and focusing on problems. I had let myself wallow in self-pity too long.
And there comes a time in my life when I have realized that I have to do something for myself. If I don't love and don't see my self-worth, no one will.
Everyone makes mistakes; we all must go through hard times in life, and it doesn't matter if we will get knocked down, but what counts is we have to get up.
Our present circumstances don't define our future and ourselves; it's just a starting point. And the best is yet to come.
I used to be the one who follows the social norms, the way I thought I was supposed to do to fit into it. Even though I had my dream, I should give up if it wasn't how most people would.
Most people will go to school to get some degree, and that will be the path to access the prestigious companies that will give them the good-paying, stable jobs or the jobs that will secure their futures.
Those beliefs are the principles or the norms that we all have learned from generation to generation. And there is nothing wrong if we follow them, but those beliefs only make us ordinary people.
The ordinary people who work from 8 to 5 and never feel satisfied or fulfilled; they are always busy all day but still feel something is missing. And often, they doubt themselves about the way they live their lives. If it is the way they want to be.
Back to the story about myself, I have been finding myself for my whole life. I have always asked myself: who am I?what is my life purpose?And what can I help to make the world a better place? I have been telling myself that I can be someone who can make a difference in the world.
I am more than my past, background, current job, emotions, feeling, etc. I have started discovering myself from the inside by spending time alone to contemplate what I want in my life, and most importantly, what I do that will make me happy and fulfilled.
The more I spend time being with myself, the more I learn about who I am, the more I love myself. And I am so happy that I finally have found myself. Now I know that being an inspirational blogger, author, and speaker are my passions.
Those are the things that make me feel that my life has meaning and purpose. Even though I am still far away from where I want to be, I believe somehow I will make it!
"Find out who you are and be that person. That's what your soul was put on this earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come".
- Ellen Degeneres
As we are human beings, we all struggle to find our goal. We want to succeed and be accepted. We try our best to fit in with our social norms. And often, we compare ourselves to others.
We tend to forget what we have done, but instead, we focus on how far we can go. We forget to appreciate ourselves for the hard work we have done. We blame, criticize, and beat ourselves up when we make mistakes.
Living this way, we will lose our joy and happiness; life is short; we don't have to be perfect. We make mistakes, and we learn. We don't have to wait until we have everything, then we can be happy. But we can be happy now, despite we are not perfect, yet we make mistakes.
"Nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. But some mistakes will teach you great lessons and make you a better person."
-Unknown
Respect yourself enough to say,"I deserve better."
-Unknown
This quote reminds me of my old self. In the past, I had been struggling to let go of someone who didn't deserve my love, tears, attention, time, energy, etc.
When you truly love someone, you will lose yourself. You will give your all to that person and even think you can't live without him. It would be great if the person you love treated you the way you treated him. But if he didn't treat you like you treated him, you should better move on.
Letting go of someone and moving on is not easy, especially when you are genuinely in love with him. It is like myself in the past that I allowed someone to stay in my life longer than he deserved. I tried to hold on to him because I thought I didn't want to lose him. I thought I couldn't live without him.
And the more I tried to hold on to him, the more I was hurt. Often, I cried myself to sleep. I even felt like it was the end of the world. I had let myself wallow in self-pity for months until there came a time when I realized that I am more than my pains and my feelings; I am worthy, and I deserve better.
When you acknowledge your worth, you love yourself enough; you respect yourself and won't let yourself stay in a relationship that does not serve you. You won't settle for anything less than you deserve.
You have only one life; it is up to you how you will spend it. Growing up, you are taught to follow the standard that everyone knows that it is the way you are supposed to do.
That standard is you must go to school to have a degree to find a job that pays you better or get hired by the top or best company.
Often, you don't know what you really want in your life that may be because you still can't make it clear between what you want to become and who you really are. You have been adapted to the standard of your society for how you should live your life.
You try your best to fit in the social norms, which makes you forget about who you really are. Your everyday life is like an automatic mode since you wake up until you sleep. So many times, you find yourself wondering how far you can go? What you really want in life?
And so often you ponder your life; you feel like you still have something to be fulfilled. You are more than what you are doing. And you want to be the change you wish to see in the world. You want to make a difference.
Maybe it's time for you to find out who you really are. It's time for you to live your life the way you want to live and be the person you really are.
"It's your life. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for living it your way."
-Unknown
