The Importance Of Being Yourself
I have a friend who wants to go out to the clubs and pesters me often about going with him. He’s at a place in his life where those things are attractive to him since he recently got divorced. But that isn’t me. It’s not who I am.
If I was 20 years younger, then I might go. But I don’t like to do those things now, so I say no every time. I have no problem going for a beer occasionally, hanging out together at one another’s house or going for a run, but the clubs are not me.
So if I gave in, I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors. I would be miserable the whole time and ready to go home as soon as I got there. If I gave in, I wouldn’t be myself. I would cater to his needs, not mine.
I’ve struggled most of my life with trying to be who I wanted and I’ve always tried to please others or not do anything to be judged harshly. And most of the time I would end up giving in.
I also followed society’s expectations and lived life like everyone else. But doing that made me unhappy and I realized I’ve been living a life not true to myself. And it’s taken me four and a half decades to finally realize it. I’m hoping you will realize it sooner than I have.
But I have decided I can no longer NOT be myself. Because I’ve never been happy living how others wanted me to.
