I am one of the least likely people on the face of this earth to receive the title of Good Whisperer. I tend to express my thoughts as they come to me, and the volume level varies with personal level of excitement. I used to get unhealthily defensive about this, as many of my friends can attest. I was displeased by the fact that I could be so loud and not care. I tried caring more and I attempted to be more quiet, but I came to realise that by focusing so much on how I received information and emotions, I took away from the experience of doing so. By numbing and minimizing my emotions, I wasn't able to fully experience them. I was constantly worried about how I affected others and if I was ruining experiences for them.
Fast-forward to now, and I am here to tell you that the entire effort was exhausting and quite frankly, futile. It's a fantastic skill whispering is; by no means am I trying to downplay it. If you, say, have an inappropriate (but hilarious) joke you desperately need to tell, your ability to whisper allows you to share your humor with the world (or a close friend). And the classic scenario: if you bang your funny bone on a desk and find yourself in deep agony and you know that cursing relieves pain but are conflicted because you are in a school environment, you can unleash a colorful series of curse words in an aggressive whisper (pain seems to evaporate!). Or perhaps the most common motivator for learning to whisper: if you want to come up with a team strategy in dodgeball, whispering comes in handy (don't want the other team to hear you; dodgeball is a no-joking matter). And then there will always be our lovely folks who enjoy a good GOSSIP session and in that case, whispering is definitely appreciated for the rest of our sakes.
However, my personal experiences have shown me that expressing full range of emotion is just as amazing. Trying to subdue my reactions turned out not to be as fun as coming up with a confidential game plan for Capture the Flag. I just had someone tell me that I say what I'm feeling too much. But how can that be? Self-expression is our greatest power. It is important to know when to stay silent and to simply observe and to let others live, but sharing your observations and views is so crucial to improving human understanding and connection. I see it this way: we are all free to live life as we feel is best fit for our own selves. Happiness for me is not necessarily what happiness is for you; we gauge that emotion using different scales. Both can be accurate, so why try to conform to another's scale? Why not proudly display yours and allow the world to react as it may? I learned only recently to stop wasting precious energy on trying to satisfy others. I've come to realize the value in myself and in pursuing my dreams in my own fashion. If it makes others happy, that's all the better.
Our time on this planet is limited. And it sprints right under our noses faster than Usain Bolt (100m: 9.58secs). Don't waste time on projects that you aren't invested in or people who don't fan your flames. Rather, chase after the dreams that ignite a flame in your heart, because your passion will always lead you to your purpose. Something incredible happens when you are honest with yourself and you start doing what you love, when your determination reacts with your inspiration. Your life will only manifest what you give the most energy. Make your primary focus the ideas and activities and places and people you genuinely enjoy. The rest will fall into place. You are not here to navigate through your life on autopilot; make the conscious decision to wake up each day with a renewed sense of energy. Abandon your dead-end projects and extinguish the voice of fear. You don't need to have it all mapped out yet; be patient with yourself on your journey. Life was never designed to be a race; honor your progress and take it one step at a time. Happiness is the end goal, but don't worry- you'll feel it once you reach it.
The minor complication with living outside of fear is the difficulty in overlooking that fear. This is where boldness comes into play. Living boldly allows us to live without regret (in the long run) and change the name of the game. Don't ever settle for the status quo. Bold thoughts and bold actions. Does it really mean anything if we think boldly but never actually act on it? The thoughts that are constantly streaming through our consciousness shape our perception of the world. Train your mind's eye to view the world with bold thoughts and colorful observations and raw moments. Boldness leaps where caution steps. And we need to take that leap. Are we enjoying our daily bowl of honey nut cheerios because that's what we've known since childhood, or are we trying our hand at that Denver omelette because we've heard wonderful things? Are we submitting conventionally bland essays or are we rocking the boat and exploring new topics and new perspectives? A bold life doesn't have to describe a life of exotic travel and first-place marathons and groundbreaking discoveries. It can be as simple as speaking your truth, walking your talk, and using your gifts and talents to express yourself. It's just as bold to stand up to a bully as it is to conquer a fear of heights. All acts of courage count and they are incomparable. Do not measure your own progress by that of another's.
With this in mind, never shrink or hold back from who you are. A friend once asked me why some people turn away from the endless possibilities of this world. And I think it has something to do with the fear of not knowing what to do once we realise that there's nothing stopping us. We're so accustomed to being held back by fear. We've been conditioned to use the possibility of failure as our excuse for not taking action. Without hesitation clouding our vision, everything's so wide open. Kind of intimidating how huge the world can seem. It's important to remember that any journey begins with a single step. Without taking that initial step, we are holding ourselves back from reaching our fullest potential. If we don't move forward—if we remain stagnant—we will forever be stuck in the unknown, wondering what could have been. We cannot afford to be content with playing it safe, people!
So take charge; some of us need a gentle push and a nudge in the right direction. Be that for those of us who could use a little sweet talking. We all need someone to lead us out of the pitfalls of paralyzing fear, the persistent doubt, the hovering insecurity—and into our brilliance. You aren't here to do what has been done before. You, my friend, are here to live out your visions and to bring your all to the table in the way that you came to do it. The time is ever-present for exploring beyond fear, for standing in your own resilience and for owning your power. The world is your oyster. Go out and blaze your trail.
🗣️ Now, existing loudly seems to scare us half to death, but is essential if we plan on living out authentic and fulfilling lives. It takes some adjusting of the mind, but soon enough, you will have trained your brain to step up and step out onto the ledge. Life is meant for living.
💭 We focus so often on our incessant mind-chatter, claustrophobic beliefs, and the stories we tell ourselves. Our thoughts hold the power to either shackle us to the ground or propel us forward. Which do we tune in to? For some reason, the louder of the two tends to be projecting doubt and unease into our ears. Speaking from past experience, earplugs have proven themselves useful.
The truth is, if you submit to these thoughts of "what ifs" and "maybes" you'll find that life goes on with or without you, and that it is rapidly passing you by. It isn't sorry either. So it's important to remember that these toxic thoughts stem from a place of insecurity within us, from not being comfortable with uncertainty. You don't own a crystal ball, as much as we'd all get a kick out of that. You can't be certain until you venture out and go for it. Don't let your second-guessing and knack for worrying talk you out of doing something potentially amazing. Simply because you think a thought doesn't make it your reality (thank goodness for that).
We tend to catastrophize situations when the best course of action is to take deep breaths, silence the mind, and reevaluate. We are so quick to succumb to our panic. In uncertain situations, we tend to default to the life we know and latch onto its comforting familiarity. We don't give our options a chance even in our minds. But this is YOUR life. It's a fine acceptable life lived within the boundaries of our comfort zone, but it's an altogether otherworldly, far more vibrant life lived outside of it.
🌈 Life is designed to be seen in beautiful colors and crazy volumes and wacky textures and unique foundations. Your life is art. Make a masterpiece out of it. You alone hold the power tools, and it is wholly up to you how you design it. So invent new colors and get crazy with the architecture and by all means, crank up the volume.
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