You are the only one who has to be okay with your decisions and who you choose to be in this world. You can love everyone without trusting everyone and you can cherish the few people in your life that you can trust, without allowing them to dictate who you are.
“You are in control of your life. Don’t ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made.” – Barbara Hall
Ultimately, you are the only one who has to be okay with the choices you make in life. You may have a few trusted friends and family members who you turn to for guidance and support. These people are your front-row fans in life. They are the ones, who you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, have your best interests at heart. It is important to have a healthy support system that you may call upon when facing challenges. They offer a level of accountability that you cannot offer yourself. You may need to view something from a few different perspectives. When you need a sounding board, these are the ones you reach out to. They will be honest with you about what they see because they love you. But, in the end, they will support you, whether they agree with your choices or not.
We live in a word full of strong opinions and righteous indignation. A majority of people truly believe that their views are right while others are wrong. We are presented with so many options of who to be, which side to choose and who to agree with.
The truth is, you don’t have to agree with anyone. The only person you have to agree with is you. And, no one has to agree with you either. It really makes no difference. You can give yourself and others the right to be right and the right to be wrong. No matter what choices you make or who you choose to be, there will always be someone who disagrees, and that is okay.
You are the only one who will be with you for the rest of your life. Every second of every day, you will be there. Every night when you cozy up and every morning that you awaken to a new day, you will find yourself there with you. You cannot change the fact that you will be with you. But, you do get to choose if you will be there FOR you. Be there for yourself.
“Control your own destiny or someone else will.” – Jack Welch
Everyone else still matters and you can give them all the love in your heart. But just as it is your job to make you happy, it is their job to make themselves happy.
If this resonated with you, you might enjoy reading ‘Take Care of Yourself First’
Previously published on Medium at https://medium.com/@helenbarry/your-life-is-your-biggest-work-of-art