A big struggle we all face is – programming. Many of the responses we have are rooted in our developmental years. These responses can be positive and negative. Somebody saying we can or can’t, praise or ridicule, being held back or being lifted up… at critical personal times, these all have their impact on who we become.
When we are in our youth, we do not have the skills or experience to fully comprehend the world around us and the level of impact our interactions can have on us later in life. This is where the maturation process comes into play. Some of us rise above while others never get beyond. Most of us are in some middle place where we struggle, knowingly or unknowingly with ghosts of our youth.
That internal voice in many cases is not our own. It is a representation of that person or people that you have held onto. We are told to follow our gut, or to listen to our hearts. The key is listening our gut and our heart, not the other voice we mistake as our own. You have to check yourself and make sure you are listening to you and not the world around you.
I don’t care how old or young you are, as long as you figure out what is really you and what is fabricated, you have a chance to live an authentic life. Being authentic is being who you really are. It is shedding the layers piled upon you by a life no contemplated. This is no easy task, the layers took time and they represent a challenge plus a life you have acquired.
So many of us stay in places we know are not good for us because we are happy to be somewhere we know. Knowing is safe, even when it is not positive. Giving up whatever it is we have to do something new is a huge risk in our minds. We are creatures of habit and comfort, which we too often mistake as security. To shed the layers, we have to shed all of it. This means we have to risk being uncomfortable, redefining our ideas of security, and putting satisfaction above mediocrity.
We all can benefit from analytical time with ourselves. We are who we are because of how we interpreted the world, the world did nothing to us. Dig deep and connect the patterns with their origins. Let go of the negative experiences to allow yourself to grow again. Embrace the people and things that made you better. No need to hate on people that you carry with you in a negative way. No need to carry any baggage that weighs you down and does not allow for you to make progress. Let it all go, make amends with your past and give yourself an opportunity to move forward free of the burden.
Those thing you don’t do because you are afraid, these things are rooted in some past experience. Let it go. That feeling of doubt when faced with challenge, change, or adversity is again rooted in the past. Let this go too. Live as you are today, be who you know you can be, and stop living up to the standards established so long ago by people that no longer exist as they once were. Do not live to please a shadow or a ghost, live in a way that satisfies you and allows you to feel comfortable with the choices you have made.
The only comfort that matters is the comfort that comes from peace within. There is no peace in relationships or anything else without that peace within and the strength it provides. Stop hating on yourself because somebody said something so long ago. Today is a new day and you have nothing but opportunity in your hands to dig deep and figure out who you are, what you want, and who matters most.
Brian Wright