You Are Ready. You Are Enough.

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash

How many times have you pretended to like something just to fit in? When I think about this question, I go back to the time I didn’t drink any alcohol (because I didn’t want to), and everyone would tell me to do so; otherwise, I would be qualified as boring or a party pooper. The worst part of it is that I would drink due to the social pressure because I was not confident enough to say “no, thank you”.

Don’t get me wrong. I would say “no, thank you”, but after a bit of teasing, I would give in.

Sure, it is nice to try new things. In fact, I think life is about trying whatever you feel like because otherwise, you would not know what it is that you really enjoy. But you should do so for the right purposes and not to please the people around you.

Many times I have found myself surrounded by people that don’t add any meaning to my life because, to the popular eye, they are the coolest. But, is it really worth it to sacrifice your essence for, let’s say, a nice party? A party that, if you think about it, you didn’t even want to be in in the first place, until someone told you that you HAD to be there.

I don’t regret having lived the way I did until a few years ago because otherwise, I would have never known how lost I was. On the contrary, I am grateful for all of my experiences and the people I met along the way. For better or for worse, they helped me realize that I alone am enough. I am everything that I need, and I will try every day not to betray myself again.

We grow up with so much pressure around us that eventually, we have no clue who we are, what we like, or what makes us feel our best. If it has happened to you (it sure happened to me), keep on reading. I will list three things that helped me get back on track and appreciate my life more than ever:

1. Meditation — perhaps you think that you don’t know how to meditate, but the truth is that there is no way to learn except by doing it. Meditation is about observing and not judging. It’s not meant to frustrate yourself if you get distracted during the practice. Trust me, silence will come.
2. Observe how you act with certain people — do you feel restrained from saying what you want? Maybe a little bit tense? You should always feel comfortable with being yourself, no matter who you are with. Normally, people care too much about what others think about them, but if you feel judged for acting as you would if you were alone, maybe you should ask yourself if they are really the people you want to be with. It may sound rough, but not everyone deserves you. You should choose people that like you for who you are and be in places where you can express your feelings and things that matter to you. But it won’t happen until you know the real you.
3. Develop a hobby — I think it is so important to have something that makes us feel pure joy. It may be music, art, books, sports. Try to think about what things you do for no reason but pleasure, and do more of it. For example, I feel so connected with myself by playing music that even if the whole world said it is wrong, I would keep doing it.

It is easier to be said than done. It is difficult to prioritize yourself and not everyone’s expectations. But trust me when I say that once you do so, you will attract exactly what you are looking for. People that make you happier and respect you for respecting yourself.

Once you do so, things will flow as you always wanted, and you might wonder, what changed?

You did.