We are not who we want to be.
We are not who we think we are.
We are what we DO.
If we don’t choose our actions carefully, we’ll end up carelessly becoming a person we didn’t intend to become.
And what a tragedy that would be.
Once we decide who we want to be, we must act it.
The best way to beat a liar is to not be like one.
The best way to beat a cheater is to not be like one.
The best way to beat a bully is to not be like one.
For as soon as you act like one, you’ve become one.
And to have become one is to have joined forces with the opposing team.
If you want to be beautiful don’t make ugly choices.
If you want to be excellent don’t make average choices.
If you want to be a professional don’t make amateur choices.
Identify who you want to become and align your choices accordingly.
Worth noting: intent, goals, aspirations, dreams, desires—all have nothing to do with it.
We are a byproduct of our choices. Nothing more and nothing less.
Netflix, Playstation, Night Clubs = Hiding Places
Journals, Retreats, Deep Conversations = Finding Places
If you really want to find yourself, stop spending all of your time in hiding places.
Living your truth will set you free.
Living a lie will confine you into a cell of your own making.
Freedom is saying what you think and how you feel, as who you are.
Captivity is saying what you think others want to hear, based on how they feel, so that you can be who they think you are.
Don’t you see? The entire thinking process is under arrest by the anarchical judgements of others.
But, here, in this prison, there are no iron bars. There are no orange jumpsuits. There are no keys or guards.
This cell, the one you might find yourself in when you live a lie, is imaginary.
Whatever guards, keys, jumpsuits, and iron bars you feel incarcerated by, have been (and can only ever be) sentenced by you.
And so is the case for your sentence to freedom—it’s all decided within the confines of your mind.
So, how do you free yourself?
You cannot have an effect without a cause.
Your actions are an effect.
If you don’t like your actions: look closer at what’s causing them.
The real cause(s) might not be as obvious as you initially think.
You might be short towards a coffee shop employee because you didn’t get a good night sleep.
Or you might be short towards a coffee shop employee because of a grudge you’ve been building towards a loved one—which inadvertently has been causing you to lose sleep and your temper.
Being proactive in understanding your causes is the secret to having more clearly understood effects.
When stuck, most people will blame circumstance.
But, what’s really holding them in place is what they believe to be true about those circumstances.
Your beliefs are the real source of your stuck-ness.
Change your beliefs and you’ll finally be able to change your scenery.