This article for goldfish:
- In the age of social media, many partake in the rat race for attention. A majority is destined to end up bitter and unhappy.
- Instead of hanging your self-worth on the opinion of others, find meaning in focusing on the things that are important to you – even when nobody is watching.
- Shine bright, but do it for yourself. Not for the admiration of others. Life is more enjoyable that way.
This article for humans:
In the age of social media, many people have a shot at their 15 minutes of fame. Their shot at drawing the attention and admiration of others.
More than ever, people compare themselves to others and are taking part in a competition to live the life (and having the body) that is most sought after.
But if ‘most sought after’ is in the eye of the beholder, you’ll automatically be hanging your self-worth on the opinion of strangers. And if that’s case, is it truly your own life you’re living, or the life of what others expect from you?
Attention flows to what is extraordinary and no matter how hard we try, we can’t all be extraordinary – that would make us all ordinary again. If we’d all be partaking in this rat race for attention, this will inevitably mean the vast majority of the population will end up bitter and unhappy. That can’t be right!
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Marcus Aurelius once asked his readers:
“Does the emerald lose its beauty for a lack of admiration?”
The answer is: it does not. It’s still beautiful and valuable when no one is watching, and so are you.
Don’t hang your personal self-worth on the opinion of others.
Instead turn within and ask yourself what it is that you value, what it is that you find important in this life. This is where you need to spend your time. Use your unique abilities to your advantage and improve them, like cutting a raw diamond, chipping away one imperfection at the time.
Don’t even worry about the outcome, there will always be someone that does a better job, someone that gets more credit for the work they’re doing – and that’s OK.
Instead of hanging your self-worth on what others think of you, measure your self-worth against the amount of focus you dedicate to using and developing your talents in the areas that you find important.
As long as this is where you spend your time, you are beautiful and living a meaningful life. Even when no one is watching.
The thing is, once you fully commit to what’s important to you, chances are that your audience will come looking for you, instead of the other way around.
But that doesn’t matter, does it? Because the opinion of others is not what you’ll be measuring your success by.
Shine bright, but do it for yourself.
Life is more enjoyable that way.
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