How many of us will spend our lives living someone else's life? That means living with dreams and goals that are not ours or ever achieved, instead basing our lives on what other people expect or want for us.
Instead, we must find our own way. It is human nature for us to make comparisons, but it can make us feel worse and doesn't help. When we perceive other people to be better or more successful than we are, we will lose our way.
We need to understand our own qualities and pay attention to ourselves. We will never know what we're capable of if we continue to follow other people’s values, or their beliefs.
We’re all individuals with unique personalities. We must get to know everything about ourselves that makes us unique, find our own way and not rely on others.
I used to talk to my mother about what everyone else had.
My mother would always tell me to quit worrying about what others had or did and think about what I had myself. I guess I was jealous of others.
I got over it and now concentrate on what I have and what I've accomplished. I'm pretty happy except for the schooling part. I've been a nurse so long and am ready to move on to a new career. I know what I want to do, but starting may be a problem right now so I just have to wait until it's the right time.
I have everything in the world I need so I don't envy others of what they have. It did make me unhappy when I would obsess about what others had and I didn't. I think I was trying to make up for the attention I didn't get from my mother and the praise I didn't get,(my sister got all the praise and good wishes). I'm okay with it now.
I'm proud of my sister for all her accomplishments. I have several accomplishments also and my mom is proud of me for them now. I guess it was a childhood thing.
Very good post here today. I can relate to this very much, through what my parents expected of me growing up and as an adult.
Thanks Randy. I think that what you experienced is very common for many of us. You're definitely not on your own.
For me it's a parent thing that they get horribly wrong; either because of a parent's culture or through what they've learned from their parents and the cycle continues.
Parents should encourage their children to 'find their own way' and help them along life's journey well enough so that their children are happy with themselves as adults.
Unfortunately for many of us that never happened; which is why some of us will still struggle today.