DO YOU!

A piece of advice that may be some of the best piece of advice ever given! "DO YOU"!

I had long been a people pleaser. I never wanted to hurt a person's feelings, make them angry, cause a disturbance, or take a chance on them not liking me. For these reasons, a good portion of my life was played out by me making decisions based on others...others' opinions, others' reasonings, others' thoughts, others' arguments, and friendships or lack of friendships with them.

I ended up getting so burnt out. So overloaded. So lost in who I was. Pleasing everyone was just not working. The reality of it is that it never did work- but it seemed to for a long time. Gradually, though, I began feeling like a failure. I realized I didn't love life like I had when I was young. I knew I had to make a change and I knew that change could come from no one and nowhere but from within. I went from loving people to feeling like they were usually somewhat of a hassel and trying to avoid or just be superficial with a lot of them.

I realized that the way I had been living my life for years was not really the way a good life could or should be lived. By the time I had gotten this realization, I was so insecure. I was so unsure of myself. I was so used to thinking about everyone around me, that I really wasn't sure where to begin finding me again.

I stumbled upon working out and that reminded me of the passion I had once had for fitness. It also gave me time. Time was something I virtually had none of when I was constantly trying to please others. Pleasing others kept me soooo busy! This time I had to myself was so useful as I could clear my mind of distractions and it allowed me to remember what my passions were....to remember what made me an individual and gave me the chance to think about how I could and would go about getting back to my roots.

I definitely think I went overboard with this in the beginning....It was sort of like a pendulum. I had been so far over to one side that as I began to swing in the other direction, I went way over in the other direction. For a while I became very self-absorbed. Life seemed to become "all about me". I just wanted to have fun, feel free, not think about others. I may have hurt people when I was in this place. I am sure I did. I never wanted to - that's for sure.

I have come back to a middle ground now. I realize more than ever that we are all made differently. Thank God! Each of us has a purpose(s). I appreciate so much people who are different from me, as I know they have talents and abilities for a reason.Their thought processes are necessary to make this world a better and more diverse place. Without this diversity, certain jobs would never get done. Life would be so boring. I also realize that I have to be me. I have a purpose- a reason for exisiting. If I am not fulfilling that, then who will?

No matter how big or small the difference, each serves a purpose. Each person's uniqueness is there for a reason. If I change who I am- who I was meant to be for someone else- then who will serve the purpose(s) I was created for? And if you change who you are for me or anyone else, then who will serve your purpose?

So, I guess what I am saying is DO YOU! Live life to the fullest!!