Wants, Wishes, & Feeling Stifled

Why do we stifle our talents and desires in order to please others?
I wrote something and she asked me to remove her name. That was a fair request. Then she wanted more revisions so I grew frustrated and just removed the whole thing. I couldn’t be bothered to go back and forth like she’s my fucking editor.
Truth be told, I do it to myself. We all do. Other people do not have as much control over us as we may think. They can express their wishes and we should absolutely listen to them, understanding where the person is coming from & why they want what they do. It is not our place to change the wants of other people. We can reason with them up to a point, but really each person is 100% entitled to want the things they want so long as they do not infringe on the life, liberty, and happiness of other people.
But just because we should empathize with other people does not mean that we are commanded to do what they wish. The other side of being entitled to wanting whatever it is that you want is realizing that you cannot have everything that you want. Each of us has to come to terms with the fact that we cannot control other people and we cannot control the world. There are many things we can control with our limited space on this planet… you can control whether or not you brush your teeth, recycle your rubbish, clean your bathroom, etc, but you cannot control the thoughts and behaviors of other people (unless you plan on becoming some sort of master manipulator).
So what are we left to do…
We are left to do what it is that we desire without blaming our actions or our inability to act on others.
We are left to understand the feelings of others without feeling obliged to agree or go along with what they say.
We are left to soldier on living every single day making the most of it in the direction we feel pulled even if that pulling is away from those we love.
I had a deep burning in my soul when I was 25 to do something insane to test my mettle. I ran away from my family, got married, moved to France, wrote a book, moved to London, learned to code, got an awesome job, made friends I thought I’d have forever, got divorced, lost all my friends, reconnected with my family, and bam here I am still standing. If I listened to what everyone wanted, I would have done nothing. I’d still be standing where I was when I was 25. Everyone in my life at the time would feel alright because I didn’t leave them and I continued to do everything that appeased them. But I and they would be no better off. My wishes were different from their wishes and I had to realize that the only person stifling me was me by going along with everything they say.
It is a natural human desire to go along with our peer group. For most of human history, it was fatal to break away from your tribe, the people who provided you with warmth and safety and food and so on. That really isn’t the case anymore as we are all essentially about to care for ourselves by engaging in the world-wide free market of goods, services, and ideas. We have the freedom and the duty to follow our hearts and fulfill our dreams and not allow anything, real or imagined, to stifle us. So want what you want, dream what you dream, don’t feel bad about it, be honest about it to yourself and others, and act now.
