I am struggling between finally living life for me versus living to please my family. While I know it’s a responsibility to care for my aging parents I still can’t help but yearn to live a life dedicated to me. I think though, that at some point we need to let go of our obligations to friends, family, boyfriends or even jobs we might not necessarily care for and finally live the life we’ve always imagined. It takes a great deal of courage to venture out and live life for YOU because while some people might accuse you of being selfish or too egocentric, it is imperative that we forego these thoughts and live for us. Here are a few tips on how to live life for yourself.
1. Know Your Whys
When you know why you’re doing something, it helps to drive all of your actions. If you don’t have a clear understanding of why you want to live for you, it will be pretty easy to be swayed a certain way. So you have to live and breathe why you want to live for you.
2. Create Alliances
Find friends or family members you can confide in and support your cause of living for you. Call on these guys to help remind you on days when it’s difficult and you feel like giving up because even when you don’t believe in yourself, these people will and you need to feed off that energy to keep you going.
3. Take Responsibility
When people blame you for not doing this or that or not living up to your role of whatever, take responsibility for your actions. However, not only will you need to take responsibility for disappointing others but also ensure that you are taking your life into your own hands and are moving closer to your goal of living for you despite disappointing people along the way.
4. Be Okay with The Repercussions
Ensure that you are aware of the repercussions that may occur if you decide to do something. However, not only do you have to be aware, you need to be OK with whatever happens, whether it be burning bridges, bringing disappointment to people you care about.. Etc. It will be tough but you have to be okay with it in order to move forward with living for you.
5. Be Kind To Yourself
You are going to get a ton of backlash for all of your “selfish” decisions. But remember to be kind to yourself through the process. It can be really easy to jump on the bandwagon and believe that you are being selfish living for you. Remember though that you are not because YOU do come first.
There’s going to be a lot of backlash when you decide to live for yourself and the repercussions may be difficult to handle. Trust me, moving to LA was one of the most difficult decisions of my life… but at the end of the day, I really do think your loved ones just want you to be happy. They’re going to try their best to warn you to bring an umbrella. But it’s your choice whether you want to bring an umbrella or dance in the rain… Good luck my loves
Live simply, love beyoutifully,
ATL
