Live for yourself

Author - Chithra Viswanathan

Do I sound narcissistic? No way!

In general, there is a prevalent misconception that one should not live for oneself!
Just like we die our own deaths, I believe we must live our own lives.

Our scriptures insist that self-love is the purest form of unconditional love. Then how is it not relevant to love ourselves and to live our own life?

Till our last day on earth, we must do our best to improve ourselves in every sphere of activity. That way, we become a happier company to live with.

Very often, our own ideas and fears hold us back. We must be bold enough to come out of them, as if 'breaking them open'.

We create our own blocks in thinking and resist hard and stick to them. Our usual thought pattern is 'what will others think, if I do this'! By thinking thus, do we not give more importance to others than to ourselves? By depriving ourselves of the pleasure doing things which we like, we become unhappy ultimately. I would even go to the extent of saying that this unhappiness latent in us, makes its ugly appearance, unknowingly, when we interact with others.

We fear rejection in a few relationships and avoid them. It is more our mind set than our fear. We tend to get tensed and unnecessarily spoil our health. We cannot be perfect all the time; but remember, so are others! Very often, if we analyze the cause of our unhappiness, we realise it is a record of our failure to be our own person.

When we come out of resistance, rather, learn to overcome it, we are on the road to progress. There is less conflict in mind and no doubt. We create more opportunities for success and forge ahead happily.

We must cultivate the habit of following our heart so that we will have the courage to dream. Ultimately, do we not want, what we dream to become our life? We cannot deny that however bitter, what our heart speaks is the truest. That should be our right direction. If our intention is clear, the path opens up for us. With belief in ourselves, we must find that course and stay on it. When you lose your direction, look inside and you will get your answer. We get clarity.

Let us not regret that for fear of what others will comment, we did not do something dear to our heart. There is pleasure in living for ourselves.

Friends, please do not get me wrong – I am not saying
Live with yourself, 
No!
But Live for yourself.
Remember, you are the unchanging you. Live for yourself first and then start measuring if you fall into someone else's standards. You owe it to yourself to fulfill your own standards and not others'.

This is how I motivate myself:

I seek myself in everything I do,
I find myself.

I dream my dream wherever I go.
I become myself.