Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself

Dear beautiful universe,

Stop feeling sorry for yourself… please! But why am I randomly coming out and saying this?

In a world where younger and younger people are emerging as instrumental prodigies, 10 year-olds becoming finalists on talent shows, 23 year-olds are signing deals with Mark Cuban, and general success is coming at a younger age for people, everyone just wants to be the best and make something of themselves.

Unfortunately, this may come at a large cost. While seeing all of these super successful people as inspirations, you yearn to see the same success within your own endeavors. You think that they rose to the top without any major blockades because they make it look easy. Although that could be true, there’s always another side to the coin… the side of which you have to fight adversity every day in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of yours. That may be more prevalent for individuals who classify themselves as “different”, but that’s more than ok. If you’ve heard of the stories of athletic stars rising from being homeless or that person’s magical idea that was rejected 26 times until someone decided to give them a chance is true. Success doesn’t magically appear with the snap of your fingers. You need to realize that lots of hard work, passion, and resilience are involved in climbing the ladder. Keep fighting, because it will happen as long as you don’t give up!

The more that you think of these young superstars, it may sometimes cause you to feel sorry for yourself because you aren’t achieving the ultimate success as early as they are… and you know what? That’s TOTALLY FINE! Not everyone finds their genuine passion as a young teeny bopper because there is no set age or timeline for success. There’s no one saying that “if you’re not successful by age 25, you’re going to be screwed over forever”. That’s completely false because everyone takes their own amount of time to truly find themselves and you need to understand that life isn’t a race. Be patient. As long as you keep trying and working towards your goal, just keep going and it will happen when you least expect it!

Not only that, but many people also come with quite the painful backstory. You are not the person with the backstory, but you are the person who overcame many challenges. If people bullied you, don’t let their problems adversely affect you. If you think you’re “fat” because we live in a world where people only claim that skinny and being ripped models are beautiful, don’t listen to society because you’re beautiful as long as you’re not some creepy criminal or something. With self-esteem issues flourishing up the wazoo, you need to realize that everyone’s path is different, everyone will reach success when the time is right FOR THEM, and the only way to win is to work. Even if you accomplish a smaller milestone, you should feel PROUD of yourself and realize that you’re one step closer to what you want. If you appreciate your accomplishments, you will become happier.

Most importantly, STOP DOUBTING YOURSELF and STOP THINKING THAT YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH. The more your attitude shows that, the less happy you will be. Not only that, but people flock towards confidence. If you present the world’s greatest idea and you’re like, “here’s my idea, but this sucks” you won’t receive as much support as you would if you presented your idea proudly and with style. Most of the time when we doubt ourselves, it’s because we want the utmost greatness. However, with failure comes lessons and with lessons come progress. Also, with your own self-doubt, other people can undermine you and not believe in you as much as they should. If you don’t believe in yourself, others won’t either. If you think your best isn’t good enough, you’re going to create discontent in your world, as well as create a blockade in your own progress. Just take a moment and APPRECIATE everything that you do because even if you don’t realize it, there are likely many people who are quite thankful for everything you have done. Your best is only your best and as long as you realize that you’re doing a good job, others will concur.

Please just take a moment, close your eyes, and think… think about all of the wonderful things you have accomplished. Even if you’re not a millionaire at 18, take your time, enjoy life, work hard, and success will come to you when the time is right FOR YOU! Don’t worry about them, worry about you! Don’t go comparing your life to someone else’s because it’s your life. Go rock it, appreciate everything you've accomplished in your unique life, and tell yourself how beautiful you are today!

From the bottom of my heart and with lots of love,
Rebs McDuxler