"Know thyself."~ Thales
I believe everyone spends their whole life figuring out who they are, expressing who they think they are, and receiving feedback from others about it.
Personally, I don't think that anyone ever really changes. The changes that most of us speak of occur when we change our actions, and not when we personally change. In short, we learn more and do things differently.
Take this for example...
I used to be a very conservative right-wing Mormon boy, then I served a mission in
...whether or not you buy that is up to you.
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I think it’s important for each of us to strive to know ourselves; search for our strengths, weaknesses, talents, and tendencies.
It’s just as important to know our shortcomings as our strengths.
One of my worst tendencies is blaming myself for everything. For some odd reason, if someone accuses me of something, whether I did it or not, I feel bad. If someone is hurt or upset, I automatically think I'm the cause. It's very unhealthy, but knowing that its a weakness helps me overcome it.
Another one of my shortcomings is trying to please everyone; I'm addicted to praise. I totally agree with Xenophon, "The sweetest of all sounds is praise."
This may not sound bad, but its very self-defeating. Each person is responsible for their own happiness. No one should have to act a certain way or do specific things in order to make another person happy. Yet, I find myself, almost daily, trying to be the person that will make everyone happy.
What ends up happening is I work myself into the ground trying to be people's happiness, but they're still not happy. How frustrating!
When I finally realized that I couldn't "make" anyone happy...most of the pressure subsided. Still, more often than I'd like to admit, I try too hard to please.
Knowing yourself is the halfway point, don't be afraid; the journey is far more rewarding than you think.
1 comment:
I love you Jacob! This is so perfectly true for myself as well! I totally feel you. I also hope that I have never made you feel less than fabulous, as a friend and as a person. You are a good person, and you want those around you that you care about, and interact with, to be happy. But you are right, their happiness is not your responsibility. So take it easy on yourself, and know that you bring joy to many people everyday, just by being you!
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