Outside of Yourself

I know beautiful people who think they are nothing and terrible people who think they are the best thing to ever exist.

How do we get such terribly strange perceptions of ourselves? How can we be so totally off?

Seeing people that think they're something they're not worries me. Do I think I'm something I'm not? Probably--at least to some extent. Who doesn't? Do we imagine ourselves as we'd like to be and not as we really are? Do we magnify our faults until the good in us is obliterated in our own eyes? And more importantly, how does this effect us? When we think we're fantastic, does that limit our ability to humble ourselves and learn from others and even from our own mistakes? Perhaps. Perhaps what is more limiting is thinking that we are worth nothing and then not reaching our full potential.

So then, since our own perceptions of ourselves are inevitably flawed, which way is it better to lean toward? I think there should be a balance. But, when in doubt, I would say that if you are prone to build yourself up more than you ought to, maybe think for a second and decide whether what you're doing is really the right thing to do or whether you're sticking to it because of your pride. Pride is one of the most paralyzing emotions humans have. We all need to learn to put it aside a little more often.

And if you are prone to beating yourself up, take a minute to reflect on whether or not you need to be so worried. Maybe this particular thing is out of your hands, or maybe it's in your hands and you failed. You will live to see another day. Chances are, the world is not ending, even if the thing you failed at doing was pushing a button every 108 minutes.

Lastly, no matter who you are, watch this video. I get all teary-eyed every time (despite the fact that Kanye and Miley are in this). If there is one thing that we can all do to make our own lives better and to have a clearer perception of who we are, it is to serve each other and look outside of ourselves.

"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." -Matthew 10:39

Was this post a little preachy? I may have gotten a little carried away. It's just that I don't know how you can not be inspired by a song featuring both Lil Wayne and Josh Groban.