Under the Influence

There’s a real temptation to want to guide others when something has worked for you. To tell them exactly what you did so they can implement it themselves. To help them fix whatever needs fixing.

I have that temptation.

I also have the complete realization that we are all unique. No two experiences are the same. What worked for one may not work for another. Selling something as if it will can make the recipient feel like a failure when it doesn’t work. In truth, we all need to know ourselves better to be able to best lead ourselves where we want to go.

It’s an interesting world we live in— people following each other, being influenced, striving to live the way others do. I don’t fault us. We’ve been conditioned. We’ve got constant eyes on everyone else. It leads us astray. The more we focus on the lives of others, the less we focus on our own. The more we strive to be like someone else, the less in tune we our to ourselves.

To truly know yourself — your needs and desires and how to meet them — gives you the power to live the life of your dreams. You can only find that through yourself— not through someone else.

We learn more about ourselves through the experiences we have and how we navigate them; through social interactions with others; through intentional reflection; through listening to our hearts. Our hearts know— they give us feelings that can guide us when we listen. That’s why the ability to listen is so important. We have all the answers within us but when we’re distracted, we can’t see or hear them.

There are distractions everywhere. They’re so prominent that some go unrecognized as distractions. We’ve become accustomed to them. Not all distractions are harmful but it’s important to have an awareness of what they are and when and how they’re influencing us.

See, I'm giving into the temptation.

I sound like I’m giving advice and instructions on how to be. What I really want to point out is that we’re all on our own unique journey. Trying to live according to someone else’s framework, way, beliefs, etc., takes you farther away from yourself. Learning and exposing yourself to varying viewpoints and ways of being can help you learn more about yourself, just be careful in adopting everything from another or expecting that what worked for someone else will work for you. Don’t let someone else’s life capture you from your own.

Listen to your body. Listen to your heart. They have so much wisdom.

Sending love.