Be you
Easier said than done. Unfortunately there are no instruction manuals on how to be you.
Even if there is one, it needs to evolve rapidly at your pace. I guess that is why such a thing doesn't exist. The non-existence of a code or a system or what to expect makes it even more harder for the fledgling you to find YOU. No wonder you get lost in the sea of advices. The ads, success stories, Instagram feed, threads in Twitter, Youtube advices that directly or indirectly tells, you are not enough the way you are. This pulls you in 100 different directions to be someone else (that includes the future better you as well) and escape who you are right now.
Every idea is pushing you to add or modify or delete something to get better. Indirectly what it says is, you are not enough in your current format. The status quo is deficient. This makes it harder for the you-in-vacuum to grow up with confidence and clarity. Even if you want to continue to be you, the pull in multiple directions makes it super hard.
Personally 2020 was hard for me. It hit (me) home. I was forced to take a pause and look at everything in totality. As a person I rate myself, as someone who thinks clearly (at-least strives to), is strong enough, is empathetic enough, has enough grit and perseverance to go through life. But 2020 just twisted and twirled my world in so many different ways that pushed me to pause and rethink life in big ways. One of the biggest take aways of 2020 is the struggle to be you despite adversities around you. (btw I am still recovering from 2020. It was a crazy ride and you can read my reflections here).
This experience of 2020 left me deeply touched and full of questions around being myself. Looks like many of us are lost in our own cocoons. The mental wellness struggle is real.
An epiphany that hit me this week
We don’t have mental illness. We just don’t know how to live in this modern (& messy) world. We just need to gear up and live better.
Here are 10 ideas to anchor you in the process of being you.
Warning: They are direct, honest and authentic realisation I had when i was going through lost and found game in 2020.
- Become your best friend, for you are the only person who will go with you till your grave. No one else will come along (including your loved ones).
- There are no spare parts available for your mind and body. You get it once and it is your responsibility to take care of them.
- Like all other beings on this earth, you also need some love and compassion from you. Don't neglect you.
- Treat planet earth like a buffet. You take what is needed and leave what you don't. Don't stuff yourself. Don't grab from someone else's plate. You will suffer.
- Everyone is busy finding themselves. Why are you wasting time thinking about them thinking about you? Relax, they don't have time for you.
- Between birth and death, what we have is called life. You get this chance only once (if i come again, I will rewrite this statement, till then YOLO).
- The ratio to find another you is 1:400 trillion. You are so unique and so special. Why do you want to be someone else? Stay as a limited edition and perish well.
- We have an ancient hardware (body and mind). We are trying to install a latest software (adapt to modern world) in the old hardware. It is bound to crash. Work with the system and not against it.
- Our brain understands things in relativity. So comparison is inevitable. The best one to compare is the one you see in your mirror.
- You are an evergreen work in progress. Yes, you are. You will die as WIP only. Why bother about perfection?
Notes taken from my reminder cards that I made for myself during the period of super lows. Hope this brings some clarity and gives you the needed courage to be you.
🥂 to you inside you!