When I decided to start blogging I thought, “You have to be careful with your words, you cannot offend anyone or risk isolating others with your thoughts and ideas.”
After attempting several times to start my next entry into my blog, I realized that if I were to do that then I am not being authentic to who I truly am.
What is the point of having the blog if you are not honest?
In my search for inspiration and reassurance I immediately went to one of my go to authors, Brene Brown. Our purpose is not to people please, which I think the majority of us struggle or have struggled with. Our purpose is just that, to live our life how we are, who we are, to be our true selves. We are not here to entertain or meet others' needs before we take care of ourselves.
Our goal, our path, is to find out who we are, what we are here to do, and why we are on this crazy adventure called life.
Don’t get me wrong, I truly and wholeheartedly believe in the end, we are here not only to serve ourselves but to help, support, love and guide others on our journeys unconditionally.
In order to do these things, I have learned to be who I am, not who others want me to be, or expect you to be (expectations…. A topic I will be diving into later on in my blogs). It took me 40 years to discover this. I wasted most of my life being someone I truly am not. I stole my life from myself because I was too busy pleasing everyone else, doing what they wanted me to do, being who they wanted me to be, acting the way they told me to.
I didn’t realize I had a choice until far into my adulthood. I cheated myself and honestly, I cheated those around me of my authentic self.
So here I am, at 56 years old, finally discovering each day a little more about myself, learning to love myself unconditionally and starting to accept me for me.
If I piss off people on my journey, well so be it. Love me or move on because I no longer will live in the shadows of other people’s expectations. Honestly, I am realizing I am a good person with much to offer those around me.
If you ever feel as if you are not accepted for your true self or if you feel you have to be someone you are not, I hope you can find the courage to jump into the arena of life, with all your vulnerability, and stand on your own two feet with confidence and unconditional self love. Take the journey with me on stepping out from the shadows of others’ expectations and opinions.