Do you feel pressure to fit into society?
Are you living your life to fulfill the expectations of others around you?
Do you feel obliged to fit into a stereotyped definition of a man or a woman?
Are you doing things that don't interest you at all only because they make you look successful and accomplished in the eyes of others?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes or maybe, then you are living with a mask to project what people around you want to see in you, not what you want. Actually, among all the conditioning that has happened to us since childhood and all the chaos around us, it is not easy to decide what we really want to do. We are guided and misguided so much since our childhood that it becomes extremely hard for many of us to decide what we really want to do in our personal and professional lives. We are told to chase our dreams, but many times situations don't allow us to do that and for many of us it's not easy to decide which dream to chase as we have too many of them, or worse, some of us don't have a dream that we want to chase.
In this confused or conditioned state of mind, knowingly or unknowingly we all start wearing a mask. We don't even realize that we are wearing a mask. We start doing the stuff that others tell us is good for us. We start dreaming about a life that others say is good and happy and choose a career that others say is safe and rewarding. We want to be successful in the eyes of our parents, other relatives, and society. Nowadays, to make sure that everyone knows about our success story we start doing these things and post about them on social media so that people think that we are successful and happy. That mask forces us to choose only certain types of careers because those are only guaranteed to make us rich and happy. We hate our job but still do it as we need those big bucks which we believe will bring a lot of happiness. But the problem is, this mask makes us forget what we really want, in which things our happiness really lies, and what we would like to choose as a profession if we don't have burdens of expectations from others. That mask eventually becomes our face and we get stuck with it, rather we start believing that it's our real face.
I am not saying that getting advice from others is bad or we should not follow anyone's guidance. Many of us need some help to navigate the path of our lives and we should seek such help. But in the end, the choice should be ours, it should not be forced on us. To make such a choice and to live such independent life we need to get rid of our mask first. We need to break free from inhibitions that stop us from exploring new paths and testing our capabilities. Any career is not a bad choice if you are really good at it, but please remember that only being passionate is not good enough, one needs to acquire the required skills and expertise also to be successful in any field. If you are happy while working hard to acquire such skills and expertise this journey becomes more rewarding and fulfilling. So, get rid of your mask, look at the world with a fresh outlook, and see what difference it makes. Live life on your terms, this doesn't mean being irrational, erratic, and without any bounds, it means being rational, sensible, and practical.
Michelangelo said, "I saw the angel in the marble and I chiseled until I set it free." We should not wait for someone else to see that angel in us, we need to find that hidden angel that resides inside all of us and make all the efforts to set it free. Getting rid of the mask that we wear to make people around us happy is one of those important steps in that direction.
Are you living your life to fulfill the expectations of others around you?
Do you feel obliged to fit into a stereotyped definition of a man or a woman?
Are you doing things that don't interest you at all only because they make you look successful and accomplished in the eyes of others?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes or maybe, then you are living with a mask to project what people around you want to see in you, not what you want. Actually, among all the conditioning that has happened to us since childhood and all the chaos around us, it is not easy to decide what we really want to do. We are guided and misguided so much since our childhood that it becomes extremely hard for many of us to decide what we really want to do in our personal and professional lives. We are told to chase our dreams, but many times situations don't allow us to do that and for many of us it's not easy to decide which dream to chase as we have too many of them, or worse, some of us don't have a dream that we want to chase.
In this confused or conditioned state of mind, knowingly or unknowingly we all start wearing a mask. We don't even realize that we are wearing a mask. We start doing the stuff that others tell us is good for us. We start dreaming about a life that others say is good and happy and choose a career that others say is safe and rewarding. We want to be successful in the eyes of our parents, other relatives, and society. Nowadays, to make sure that everyone knows about our success story we start doing these things and post about them on social media so that people think that we are successful and happy. That mask forces us to choose only certain types of careers because those are only guaranteed to make us rich and happy. We hate our job but still do it as we need those big bucks which we believe will bring a lot of happiness. But the problem is, this mask makes us forget what we really want, in which things our happiness really lies, and what we would like to choose as a profession if we don't have burdens of expectations from others. That mask eventually becomes our face and we get stuck with it, rather we start believing that it's our real face.
I am not saying that getting advice from others is bad or we should not follow anyone's guidance. Many of us need some help to navigate the path of our lives and we should seek such help. But in the end, the choice should be ours, it should not be forced on us. To make such a choice and to live such independent life we need to get rid of our mask first. We need to break free from inhibitions that stop us from exploring new paths and testing our capabilities. Any career is not a bad choice if you are really good at it, but please remember that only being passionate is not good enough, one needs to acquire the required skills and expertise also to be successful in any field. If you are happy while working hard to acquire such skills and expertise this journey becomes more rewarding and fulfilling. So, get rid of your mask, look at the world with a fresh outlook, and see what difference it makes. Live life on your terms, this doesn't mean being irrational, erratic, and without any bounds, it means being rational, sensible, and practical.
Michelangelo said, "I saw the angel in the marble and I chiseled until I set it free." We should not wait for someone else to see that angel in us, we need to find that hidden angel that resides inside all of us and make all the efforts to set it free. Getting rid of the mask that we wear to make people around us happy is one of those important steps in that direction.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
Well written and expressed !!
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