Strap in. We are going on a rollercoaster *waheyyyyyy*
As you may or may not know, I turned TWEENTY FREE in March. It really hit me harder than a lot of birthdays because I realised that I was closer to 25 than I was to my teens. I started to feel like adulthood was beginning to set in. I don't feel like I am running out of time, but I definitely felt like "damn, is this the position I should be in?".
This was intensified by my health scare. I had to go to the hospital because my GP thought my symptoms were serious and consistent enough to query a life-threatening condition. I didn't think I was going to die, nor did I think I even had the condition, but the fact that it was even slightly possible that I had something that serious really made me think about life (even more than usual).
I began to think about life without me and what that would mean/look like – not in an 'I'm so important, the world will be drastically different without me' way. Did I let the people I love know how much I love them? Was I able to positively affect the lives of the people I came into contact with? Was I able to achieve all the things I wanted to accomplish at my age?
While thinking about all these things, I felt a sense of disappointment because, to be honest, I wasn't sure about any of them. I couldn't come up with a definitive answer, and that for me was enough of an answer. Why was I not pursuing my goals with everything I had?
I view myself as an organised and proactive person. I would say that I am actively working towards my goals, and I am doing things to continually better myself, but I also think that I have become complacent. I've stopped pushing myself as much as I know I can, and I have settled into a pattern that has become comfortable for me. I'm happy to say that I am consistently doing the things I am supposed to but are these things really helping me to develop and grow as much as I can?
We spend far too much time thinking about what other people are doing and how our work compares to theirs. This is something that I have mentioned in past blogs. All the energy invested in looking at and engaging in what other people are doing is energy that could have been used to develop yourself, your brand, your business, your relationships ...the list goes on. By all means, celebrate others, be happy for others, but there is no use becoming emotionally invested in what everyone else is doing.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
I was reminded of Matthew 25: 31-45. We speak of our social responsibility, but too often we do 'good' things for the recognition or because it helps us with a bigger goal when, in truth, we should do things just because it helps others. There is a man (you might have heard of him) in the New Testament that gives us some great examples of how to help our brothers and sisters. *whispers* I am talking about Jesus hehe
In addition to this, we know that we have stewardship over this Earth. As well as having dominion over all things, it is our duty to also serve all people, animals, and things less able than our selves. We're seeing the effect of our selfishness and greed on the 'least' of our brothers and sisters. The countries who contribute the least to global warming are feeling the effects the most. Tek care a di planet! *I promise I am not involved with the Extinction Rebellion protesters*
I've mentioned this before, but introspection is so important. We should always be looking at ourselves and evaluating our actions.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. If you were on your deathbed, would you be happy with what you focused on?
2. What are you doing to just help others?
3. Are you doing everything you can to achieve the future you want?
Disclaimer: this life no be easy so be proud of yourself for also getting through each day. Don't feel that because you're not trying to change the world, that you aren't doing enough.