How To: Live For Yourself

Hey there! Today I spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to "live for yourself." This topic made me extremely confused because on one hand, I firmly believe that family and friends are what really make a person happy, but on the other hand, I also believe that a person needs to first be happy with themselves and place this above other relationships. As you can probably tell, this is one messy, complicated idea. After sitting on the idea for a while, I came across a quote that finally made sense of things.

      When I first read this quote, it was like a lightbulb flashed on in my head. In my many, many years of experience on this Earth (yes-sarcasm), I have spent too much time living for other people. Now, I do not mean this in a "I am so generous" kind of way. I mean I have waited around way too many times for my friends to make plans with me. I have allowed others to determine my own behavior for too long. I've compared myself to too many people that I don't even know on social media. The list could go on and on and on. 

     Looking back on all of these times, it truthfully makes me sad to think that I placed the control of my life in the hands of others. I want to go back to my younger self, or even myself a couple months ago, and say, "Care about others, but live for yourself." I want to tell myself that yes, family is important. Friends are important. Love them, worry about them, do things for them. But don't forget about yourself along the way. Because, at the end of the day, it is your life. You are the one who makes the decisions and choices that will affect your future. This is your life. Live for yourself. 

     Now, don't get me wrong. I'm still working on this myself. This simply goes to show that we are always a work in progress and that this is okay. :)

That's all, for now.

-M