Being Ourselves
"The easiest thing in the world is to be you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position."
~Leo Buscaglia~
The urge to please is powerful, even when it pushes us to be someone we are not. When we try too hard to please, however, we usually fail to please anyone - not the person we were aiming to please and certainly not ourselves.
If people can't accept us for who we are, then we have to ask ourselves why we would want to have a relationship with them to begin with. We should never have to be inauthentic to earn someone's love or respect.
I am who I am. While I can always improve, I will not let anyone try to make me what they want me to be.
My thoughts: I think the quote in this entry is a little out of perspective. I think that it has become very hard to be ourselves in this society. Everyone looks for acceptance and approval from others, and it's a natural human instinct. We need to learn where to draw the line before it becomes harmful to ourselves. It's important for you to accept yourself as you are. All your flaws, skills, talents, wishes, dreams, everything. Be happy with who you are. But don't be afraid to change for the better. Make sure it's on your terms though and not someone else's.
What We Eat
"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."
~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin~
If we skip breakfast and grab fast food for lunch, what do we think of ourselves? If we eat a dinner of popcorn and soda while standing over the sink, what do we think of ourselves? If we repeatedly gorge ourselves on the comfort foods of our youth, what do we think of ourselves?
What and how we eat says a lot about us - and how we feel. We do not have to treat ourselves badly, eating food that neither nourishes nor delights us. We can change what and how we eat - and, in the process, what we think of ourselves.
I will respect myself - and take care of my body - by eating appropriately and enjoying what I eat.
My thoughts: I don't think this is as black and white as this entry makes it seem. It's okay to eat bad food; just don't do it all the time. You should be able to enjoy what you eat. But you do only have one body, and the better of shape it's in, the better you will feel, and your quality of life will increase. Enjoy food, but don't become gluttonous.
Finding Fault
"To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult."
~Plutarch~
We all like to criticize, even if we have no idea how we would do any better than those we're criticizing. Sure, some people deserve to be criticized. But we could fofer our criticism with a little humillity, especially when we know that people are doing the best that they can and that we could probably not do any better ourselves.
I will try not to criticize someone unless I can offer a better solution.
Preparedness
"In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind."
~Louis Pasteur~
Few people really "have all the luck". Most of those we envy have set the stage for their successes. They were ready for luck to come along because they'd studied or saved or watched for opportunities and then seized the moment. We can prepare ourselves for luck as well. In fact, we'd better, or we may find ourselves out of luck in the long run.
I can't be lucky in life if I don't create circumstances that will allow me to prevail.
Seeing Beauty
"I never saw an ugly thing in my life; for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful."
~John Constable~
Beauty- and ugliness- really are in the eye of the beholder. We can dismiss things in our lives as flawed and ugly. Or we can choose to see them in a different light that reveals their strengths and beauty.
If I'm tempted to dismiss something - or someone - as not worth my time, I will give it or them a second look, from a different perspective I may have found someone uninteresting because I simply wasn't asking the right questions.
The Web of Deception
"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."
~Sir Walter Scott~
It starts with just a little fib: "Oh, we can't go to your party, sorry. Nothing serious, just a sore throat and a little fever, but we really don't want to spread any germs. Now we've got the evening to ourselves, and we didn't have to hurt anyone's feeling by saying no.
But then the fib grows. Our friends send over some chicken soup. We get a phone call asking if we're feeling better. Someone who went to the party runs into us the next week and expresses sympathy over our illness. It would have been a lot easier either to go to the party or to simply say that we preferred to stay home.
Even small lies get complicated quickly. I'm better off being as honest as I can be.
Perspective of Age
"The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did as twenty has wasted thirty years of his life."
~Muhammad Ali~
What adult over thirty doesn't like to be thought of as youthful? It flatters us when others assume that we're younger than we are. Being young at heart, though shouldn't mean being young at mind. If your perspective on the world doesn't widen and deepen as we age, then we're squandering the most valuable asset life has to offer.
I loved my younger years, but I also love how experience has informed my judgement and made me a wiser person.
Stay young at heart and do a few some of this: Go ahead, take chances. Tell the truth. Date someone out of the blue. Say no. Spend all your cash. Get to know someone random. Be random. Say I love you. Sing out loud. Laugh at stupid jokes. Cry. Apologize. Tell someone how much they mean to you. Tell a jerk what you think. Laugh until your stomach hurts. Live Life. Regret Nothing.
