This post originally appeared here on Medium.
Show Them You Really Don't Give A Damn And Do It Like The Authentic You
You’ve gone into hiding.
Hiding who you are in preference of conformity. You allow others to define who you should be and how you should operate your life. So often, you’re trapped in a social stigma and this has become an ongoing, progressive cycle.
It’s time to stop.
Stop limiting yourself. Stop measuring your self-worth with a random stick. Don’t you realize that how you measure your worth affects the kind of life you live? Your best measuring stick should be the one you can control and not the external events.
You have to do it like the authentic you. You don’t always have to prove yourself as worthy of everyone for everything. Quit doing things that made others happier than it made you. Show up for yourself first with all confidence.
It’s high time to stand up for yourself because if you won’t, no one else will.
You’re not the clothes you wear or the car you drive. You’re not the image you try to project to the outside world. If you’re always running on the wheel of life, chasing some impossible standard, your life will forever go in circles.
In this world where everyone is comfortable being a sheep, I dare you to set yourself apart and focus on things that matter to you. I dare you to decide.
Decide to stand out and be yourself. To stay real apart from the masses. To not be corrupted by the mediocre standards and their fabrication of images. To quit seeking social validation based on what looks good. Knowing that all social requirements will eventually fade will keep you on the road to love yourself and live up to your own expectations.
Decide to walk in the direction you know is right for you. Kiss fear in the face and do it anyway. Throw yourself into it, even if it looks crazy. Because you know when it feels right, everything else will feel like a lie, a weak approximation. Dare to explore and embrace yourself. Don’t let fate bind you, charter your own course and shape your destiny.
The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethic over convenience, and truth over popularity; these are choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity without looking back, for there is never a wrong time to do the right thing.
— Michael Moore
Decide to become aware. Be aware of your mind, your self and your world. Be aware of what liberates you, what makes you come alive. When you are aware, you have more control over your behaviors, reactions, and decisions. You’re more able to think before your act. That will positively change the way you live your life.
Decide that life is not cruel, and it isn’t unfair because you are in control of most of what happens to you. You have the responsibility to yourself, to make a difference. Be willing to take an honest look at your contributions and realize that when you change yourself, the world around you changes too. That power is in your possession.
Decide to stop comparing and enjoy life on your own terms. Sometimes others may pass you on this road, and that’s okay. Let them be. We’re all traveling at different speeds. Quit focusing on how you rank. This is not a competition. It has nothing to do with how well others are doing and everything to do with what you want and where you’re going.
Original Photo by Guilherme Almeida from Pexels
“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” —E.E. Cummings
Decide to be original, different, and exciting. Yes, that’s you. Just because something worked for others doesn’t mean it will work for you. Find what works for you. Have full control of the joystick of your life game, keep it in your hand. Confront the challenges and dare to create change. Find your own path and focus on what you do best.
You always have a choice. You always have a voice. So own your power.
The power to be strong when others are weak.
The power to lead when others are following.
The power to rise when everyone around you is falling.
The power to speak your truth when others choose to be silent.
The power to make a difference when others are waiting for a savior.
The power to be authentic when others are faking it.
Accept the challenge to get where you must go. Are you prepared to stand out and rule?
I dare you to be different. I dare you to decide.
