Welcome to the YOU crowd
"The greatest mistakes you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one."
-Elbert Hubbard
Despite how much many of us would like to say that we were always at ease with ourselves and where we stand in relation to others, there is a point in all of our lives, no matter how brief, where we imagine ourselves in a different social circle. Personally, I'm glad that it was only a thought and not something I acted on. I am content with who I am and who I have become; we are our experiences and the past cannot be isolated from the future.
I have very few regrets. And some are regrets about buying black jeans instead of blue, or a burger instead of a salad. Not major life-changing decisions but they bring the "what-if" thoughts nonetheless. While I don't regret the company I keep, I know many who do. They wish to change themselves to better fit in with another crowd because they perceive the others to be happier or more successful. Even after showing the grass isn't greener, the "what if" lingers. And then there are those in limbo: have the regrets but don't act on them; forever thinking of what could've been and how their life is going down the "wrong" path because of that fear to act.
So at what point do we stop trying to fit in?
The quote below from Oscar Wilde prompted me down this thinking. He's certainly not the first to say it; I recall a text from Rousseau preaching a similar message. Regardless, my experiences prove it true. Satisfaction with oneself is independent from others. Knowing someone else's opinions shouldn't be the cause of change in you, rather your cause of determination to continue being yourself and standing by the choices best for you.
I need to revisit this post at some point and try to make my thoughts more coherent... stand by for the update.
-Elbert Hubbard
Despite how much many of us would like to say that we were always at ease with ourselves and where we stand in relation to others, there is a point in all of our lives, no matter how brief, where we imagine ourselves in a different social circle. Personally, I'm glad that it was only a thought and not something I acted on. I am content with who I am and who I have become; we are our experiences and the past cannot be isolated from the future.
I have very few regrets. And some are regrets about buying black jeans instead of blue, or a burger instead of a salad. Not major life-changing decisions but they bring the "what-if" thoughts nonetheless. While I don't regret the company I keep, I know many who do. They wish to change themselves to better fit in with another crowd because they perceive the others to be happier or more successful. Even after showing the grass isn't greener, the "what if" lingers. And then there are those in limbo: have the regrets but don't act on them; forever thinking of what could've been and how their life is going down the "wrong" path because of that fear to act.
So at what point do we stop trying to fit in?
The quote below from Oscar Wilde prompted me down this thinking. He's certainly not the first to say it; I recall a text from Rousseau preaching a similar message. Regardless, my experiences prove it true. Satisfaction with oneself is independent from others. Knowing someone else's opinions shouldn't be the cause of change in you, rather your cause of determination to continue being yourself and standing by the choices best for you.
I need to revisit this post at some point and try to make my thoughts more coherent... stand by for the update.
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