Nowadays, a big thing for me is to be honest with myself. Not bullshit myself. I am very good at hiding my opinions and thoughts. I am good at hiding stress, by doing copious amounts of yoga. But then, I am not being honest with anyone, especially not myself, which is unhealthy.
I GOT A NEW JOB! I know after applying for almost a year and a half, since April 2010, I finally got a job on Sep 23rd, 2011. I mean, I was working intermittently but admittedly, not really full time and not to my full potential. Which is of course the most important question. Are you living to your full potential? Are you living a happy life? Are you happy? Are you compromising?
I was reading this book by Anita Shreve, Where or When, and in that book, there were some very unhappy people, who had been compromising for 31 years. When they finally stopped, they hurt a lot of people and it was hard, but there was this desperation about them, because they realized they had wasted so much time being who they really weren’t. 31 years is a long time to be someone you really are not. It made me feel so sad, for so many people out there, who really are living lives of lost meaning, lives of quiet desperation.
The most important thing you can do is not live a life like that. Be true to your roots, make yourself uncomfortable, be honest.
I don’t know much about full potential, but I do know there’s probably no human being on the planet happier with his life than I am. But I don’t spend much time thinking about my roots. Each to his own, I reckons.
@ Old Jules
I’m glad, though, to hear you are happy. We need more of that on this planet.
Of course everyone has different ways of dealing with his/her life. I’m just one pathway among many.