We’ve all seen that poster with the cute little bumble bee that reads “Bee Yourself.” I know I’ve seen it hundreds of times and this is what it meant for me when I was younger: Don’t try to be like everyone else. That’s it… but today, I know that it means so much more than that.
There are some people who manage to stay true to themselves their entire lives, not allowing anything get in the way of their happiness. However, there are also many people who get caught up in living a lie. Maybe they live to please others and ultimately forget their own passion. Maybe they live in fear of failure and criticism, and never even try to follow their dreams. Or maybe they know exactly who they are and what they want but choose to deny this truth and pretend to be something or someone different, in order to “fit in” and keep up with the Jones’. What does all of this eventually lead to? Unhappiness, of course… Why? Because they’ve been dishonest with themselves and have neglected their own truth. If we want to be happy and fulfill our purpose in life, which I’m sure most people do, we need to find out what our own truth is and LIVE it fully, no matter how much it changes or how crazy others think it is.
It's very easy for people to lose their sense of self, and ultimately "lose their way." From a young age, we are surrounded by people and things that teach us how we are "supposed" to live and act, what we are "supposed" to want and strive for... Society has expectations for us. Our families have even higher expectations for us. Over time, our minds may become cloudy and we forget our own truth. We then get caught up in living a life that others have created for us. If you are living your life based on what others expect from you, what they want for you, or what they think about you, you’re not being true to yourself. Those things are external. You must look within to find the truth. What excites you? What are you passionate about? What makes your heart smile?
We have to be real and true to ourselves, always. Our own truth (what we truly want, our passion, our dream) is not always going to be the same as those around us. For instance, if I would have given in to what society expected of me years ago, that would have meant me settling... Perhaps, I’d be married by now because that's what most of my friends were doing. I probably would have left college after receiving my bachelor’s degree and settled with a job I didn't like, because everyone was always nagging me about how long I’d been in school for. I would be unhappy right now... living a lie...living someone else's truth and not my own. How can we find out what our purpose in life is if we are lying to ourselves, denying our own truth, settling, pretending...?
I know that as long as I am doing what makes me happy and what I feel is right and true for me, I am fulfilling my purpose in life. I’m too hard-headed to allow anyone to put limitations on me; however, I am guilty of letting fear get the best of me at times. But once I remember that fear is mostly just in my imagination, it eventually subsides. I will continue to live my own truth each day. I will not settle just because society or my family or my own fears want me to, and I hope that you won’t either. :)
-BC
********
The first two quotes are what inspired me to write this post. I came across them this week and felt compelled to elaborate. Then after I'd finished the post, I coincidentally stumbled upon the last one from an eBook and just HAD to come back and add it.
"If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared - most of all - to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself....then the truth will not be withheld from you."
- Elizabeth Gilbert
“Only by its own roots does a tree stand tall and only by its own light does the sun shine brightly and bring life to our world. So it is with you – only when you’re trusting, loving and rooted in your true Self will the life that is your highest potential begin to manifest. Only when you are walking on the path of your highest potential will you ever be able to shine brightly and bring light to the darkness in others.”
- Anon
"Enough already with not following your heart and living the life that you deserve. Enough already with lying to yourself, denying who you are, and ignoring the screams of your soul. Enough already with being afraid. Enough already with looking outside for all the answers that can only be found within. Enough already with being anyone but yourself. Enough already for settling for less than you deserve. Enough already with not doing the things that make you happy..."
-Jen Saunders
There are some people who manage to stay true to themselves their entire lives, not allowing anything get in the way of their happiness. However, there are also many people who get caught up in living a lie. Maybe they live to please others and ultimately forget their own passion. Maybe they live in fear of failure and criticism, and never even try to follow their dreams. Or maybe they know exactly who they are and what they want but choose to deny this truth and pretend to be something or someone different, in order to “fit in” and keep up with the Jones’. What does all of this eventually lead to? Unhappiness, of course… Why? Because they’ve been dishonest with themselves and have neglected their own truth. If we want to be happy and fulfill our purpose in life, which I’m sure most people do, we need to find out what our own truth is and LIVE it fully, no matter how much it changes or how crazy others think it is.
It's very easy for people to lose their sense of self, and ultimately "lose their way." From a young age, we are surrounded by people and things that teach us how we are "supposed" to live and act, what we are "supposed" to want and strive for... Society has expectations for us. Our families have even higher expectations for us. Over time, our minds may become cloudy and we forget our own truth. We then get caught up in living a life that others have created for us. If you are living your life based on what others expect from you, what they want for you, or what they think about you, you’re not being true to yourself. Those things are external. You must look within to find the truth. What excites you? What are you passionate about? What makes your heart smile?
We have to be real and true to ourselves, always. Our own truth (what we truly want, our passion, our dream) is not always going to be the same as those around us. For instance, if I would have given in to what society expected of me years ago, that would have meant me settling... Perhaps, I’d be married by now because that's what most of my friends were doing. I probably would have left college after receiving my bachelor’s degree and settled with a job I didn't like, because everyone was always nagging me about how long I’d been in school for. I would be unhappy right now... living a lie...living someone else's truth and not my own. How can we find out what our purpose in life is if we are lying to ourselves, denying our own truth, settling, pretending...?
I know that as long as I am doing what makes me happy and what I feel is right and true for me, I am fulfilling my purpose in life. I’m too hard-headed to allow anyone to put limitations on me; however, I am guilty of letting fear get the best of me at times. But once I remember that fear is mostly just in my imagination, it eventually subsides. I will continue to live my own truth each day. I will not settle just because society or my family or my own fears want me to, and I hope that you won’t either. :)
-BC
********
The first two quotes are what inspired me to write this post. I came across them this week and felt compelled to elaborate. Then after I'd finished the post, I coincidentally stumbled upon the last one from an eBook and just HAD to come back and add it.
"If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared - most of all - to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself....then the truth will not be withheld from you."
- Elizabeth Gilbert
“Only by its own roots does a tree stand tall and only by its own light does the sun shine brightly and bring life to our world. So it is with you – only when you’re trusting, loving and rooted in your true Self will the life that is your highest potential begin to manifest. Only when you are walking on the path of your highest potential will you ever be able to shine brightly and bring light to the darkness in others.”
- Anon
"Enough already with not following your heart and living the life that you deserve. Enough already with lying to yourself, denying who you are, and ignoring the screams of your soul. Enough already with being afraid. Enough already with looking outside for all the answers that can only be found within. Enough already with being anyone but yourself. Enough already for settling for less than you deserve. Enough already with not doing the things that make you happy..."
-Jen Saunders
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