What we want for ourselves isn't always what we actually want for ourselves, you know what I mean? Oftentimes, the expectations we place on ourselves are the manifestations of external pressures to be a certain way.
But that's just the way society functions; we're all enslaved by our subconscious need to belong to something larger than ourselves. Think about it, what is larger than society? It's the force that drives and controls everything, even rebellion is an acknowledgment of "the system". Every failure or success is determined by the benchmarks that society defines. Aren't we, each one of us, just cogs in the machine?
Totally not attempting to convey any nihilistic sentiments, despite restating clichés that have already been restated way too often, just talking myself through a mental fog.
When someone comes to me, dissatisfied with their lot in life and looking for consolation or confirmation, my usual answer is that "we all need to pay our dues" -- which is my usual response to myself as well. Boy, I am the cliché master. I drop mad clichés like nobody's bloody business. I digress, though.
In a way, it kind of cycles back to the reasoning that expectations colour situations. When going over a rough bit of road, it's a natural tendency to believe that it'll smoothen out soon enough, it's the only way we are able to will ourselves to keep going.
I don't want to "speak" too bluntly because doing so may lead me to delete this entry since I'm clearly suffering from a momentary lapse in...whatever the opposite of stupidity is, so I'll just be implicit. Overcoming a lack of confidence is something nobody can help us with. At the end of the day, it all boils down to just getting the fuck on with things.
And if we find that we're having a hard time getting over our so-called problems, we should read a few articles about world issues to remind ourselves that we live charmed lives. People in many parts of the world can't even fathom the existence of the melodrama we have the luxury of inflicting on ourselves.
It's way too early in the year for a post like this, better keep the rampant negativity in check.
If positivity does not come naturally, we must force it upon ourselves. "Fortune does favour the bold and you'll never know what you're capable of if you don't try" (-Sheryl Sandberg).
Now at the risk of being repetitive, let 2012 be the year for different beginnings and positive reinvention!
