Fitting in

If someone else's light bothers you, kindly put on your sunglasses!

The most common problem people face these days is that of fitting in. Fitting in to the expectations of others and trying to mold themselves accordingly. Very early on in life, I was taught to be my own person. As much as I like people giving me suggestions and constructive feedback, I detest it when someone tells me how to live my life.

The expectations people have of you are endless. When you adhere to these expectations, slowly you lose your own identity. The very thing that makes you different becomes a cause of disdain for the other. The only way of dealing with this is by making it very clear in the beginning that no matter what, nothing will stop you from living your life, your way, as long as it doesn’t harm another being.

A fool tells another how to live his life and a bigger fool is he who does exactly that. We all come in different shapes and sizes and that is what makes us different in the world. When we try to fit in to someone else’s mold, we must chip off some parts of us. One day we finally realize that there is nothing left to chip anymore. We've fit into the mold, but at what cost? Well, at the cost of losing our individuality. We fail to recognize ourselves because we have been so used to living our life according to others. 

In every walk of life people will expect different things out of you. Whether it is your colleagues, your boss, your partner, your parents, your in-laws, even your children. Everybody will have different expectations based on their preconceived notions. Initially you will try your best to fulfil those and fit into the prefixed molds in order to be accepted and liked, but slowly you’ll discover that you’ve lost most of yourself and become nothing but a people-pleaser. No profound happiness will ever be found if you continue to do this.

Being someone who has been subjected to and adhered to all of the above, I now know that it’s a complete waste of life if you do not preserve the essence of who you are. You grow into a full-fledged life only when you use your own mind and all of your faculties to boost your personal growth. It truly doesn’t matter whether you put your elbows on the dinner table or not. Whether you believe in idol worship or are unabashedly an atheist. It doesn’t even matter if you pursue a career that doesn’t mint tons of money or that you pursue a full time career much to the displeasure of your conservative family. Blooming into a uniquely beautiful, happy individual should be the one and only goal of one’s life. The rest is just hogwash!