Well, here's the deal. You are a perfect YOU!! there is no one else just like you in the world.
If you ever spend time with a toddler you can see how they are busy just being themselves.
Somewhere along the line we lose that absolute sense of self and keep busy trying to fit in.
As I have gotten older, I have begun to remember what it was like to just be me, and practicing being myself has been freeing.
I no longer worry about being like someone else. I don't worry about fitting in, because I fit in with me.
If you aren't already practicing being yourself, I hope you will start.
You are a wonderful you.
YES! Somehow when I turned 50 I stopped caring so much what others thought and felt freer to just be me. I'm happy now and wish we could learn this at a younger age.
ReplyDeleteI think 50 is a magic number, even though I am well beyond a young 50! I feel so good, alive, and I am actually starting to "get," myself. I am just trying to be the best version of me, that I can.
ReplyDeletexo
Jemma
That is such a great reminder! I think somewhere during the elementary school years we start comparing ourselves to others and we quickly see who is getting the attention and who is not. We start to think that we need to be a certain way if we're going to be popular. Unfortunately, it only gets worse as we get older. But I do think something magic happens as we start losing our youth. We realize how much time we wasted trying to be like someone else. I love that quote you shared. It really is freeing!
ReplyDeleteSo true, and so awesome! I am one of those people that abhors mainstream...if everyone else is doing it that's exactly the thing I am going to stay away from!! I think that's why I never got into Facebook - ha ha!!
ReplyDeleteYou gave us a lot to think. I have noticed the same with my 6-year-old, for example he had skiing at school today and told me he had been a great skier:) not at all thinking that this was the first time in 2 years because of the lack of snow...
ReplyDeleteWords of wisdom - thank you.
ReplyDeleteHaving turned 50 this past October, I am doing things today I only dreamed of yesterday. It is magical having the confidence to just "be". Thank you for the inspiring words.
ReplyDeleteJoanMarie
Sadly, I think that many women fall into the trap of thinking someone is better and they must be emulated. This is especially true of younger women who constantly berate themselves and want to be just like the "it girl" of the moment. When I was in school I was lucky to be popular, yet there was one girl who seemed to be much more perfect than I. She was extremely intelligent, strikingly beautiful, the perfect athlete, cheerleader, home coming queen, etc. Recently I caught up with her and was frankly shocked. She has two failed marriages behind her, is estranged from her only child and has been the member of a wacky mind controlling cult for years. She is struggling to eke out an existence now. The grass is not always greener. I wish there was a good way to help young girls and young women to realize this and run their own races.
ReplyDeleteBig Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley