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You’ve been kind to people.
And some have betrayed you.

You’ve been giving 100% of yourself.
And some people have broken your trust.

Should you give up your kindness?

No.

Maybe the thing to give up is that relationship.

Kindness didn’t cause you pain.
The person did. 

Your kindness didn’t backfire.
The relationship did.

Your kindness isn’t the problem. It is the biggest superpower you have.

We’re struggling hard.

To find the right piece of advice.
To find that one person who will give it to us.

However, we are always giving advice to others. 

Telling them what to do.
What not to do.
How to think.

What if we gave that advice to ourselves?
What if we trusted our own advice for the decisions that are most important to us?

The advice that we are looking for, is the advice we already give. 

We are caught up in the influencer race.
Of more likes, comments and followers.

A hundred thousand.
Five hundred thousand.
Millions of them.

And we do not think of ourselves as an influencer, until these numbers do not show.

However, we become an Influencer not by the number of followers.
Rather, by the potential influence we have on the lives of people.

What if our thoughts could affect a few people’s day positively, each day?

An influencer isn’t defined by their follower count.
They are defined by the lives they touch.

Whom do we call a wise person?

Is it someone who knows everything?
Someone who has strong convincing skills?
Someone who believes in what they say?

A wise person is someone who does what is right, without the intention of convincing others. 

They do not care what people say about them.
They care about the impact they intentionally make. 

They do not work to impress those around.
They do their own thing and let their brand be made from there.

When someone doesn’t feel the need to show they’re wise, they’re truly wise.

Remember the time you did something wrong as a kid?
And instead of lying about it, you decide to own up and tell your parents about it?

However you got scolded, instead of being appreciated for speaking your truth

That becomes your worldview.
That is how you get to understand how the world works.

Are we doing the exact same thing to people around us?

By not appreciating someone for their vulnerability and truth, all we do is cultivate liars.

The first few episodes of the Netflix series are boring.
However, you still keep watching the series. 

Because a friend told you to stay at it because it gets interesting eventually.

What if we treat our goals and our journey the same way?
Keep at them even when they are boring early on — because it gets interesting eventually?

Persistence isn’t a one-day miracle, it’s a conscious choice translated into habit.

Lots of work on the list?
Several hindrances?
Unable to focus?

Do you also sometimes feel the same way about your work?

No matter how much you try to focus on your important tasks, the hindrance just keeps coming up. It’s almost repeated on an endless loop.

The real task then is the hindrance that comes in your work.

That problem that keeps repeating itself is your task.
The individual that doesn’t help you reach your goal is the one you need to have a conversation with.
The distraction that doesn’t let you focus, is what you have to manage first.

What hinders your task is your task.

Myth: You can give your 100% to work every day.

Between your home life, social life, and professional life, you don’t operate at 100% efficiency.

If you force yourself to give your 100% every day, you will burn out.

Here’s how I approach it:

I know that my best effort looks different each day.

Depending on my energy levels, physical activity, social interactions, type of work, etc.

This is also why I advocate for setting habits over goals.

It helps me show up every day, work as much as I can mindfully (even if that’s a small step), and focus on the input over the output.

This way, you are still giving it 100% – of what you can give.

How much you work should never define your worth.

“Was it okay?
Did you like what I said?
Do I look good?
Do you love me?”

Of all the needs that we have, the need for validation always makes us weak.

Waiting for someone else to tell us that we are right.
Asking people to be our cheerleaders, because we can’t be our own.
Basing our identity on the perceptions and stories of others.
What if we started telling ourselves that we are enough?

What if we knew that it’s okay to be a work in progress?

How would things change if we knew from within that we are doing our best, and raising the bar every single day?

Till the time we base our identity on what others think, we will keep getting weaker.
And never discover how strong we truly are within.

When a baby elephant is born, one of its legs is tied to a chain.
It doesn’t have much strength as a baby, so it cannot break it and run away.

Tired of trying over and over again, the baby elephant finally gives up. It has now accepted this chain as the new normal.

Over some time, it grows up to become an adult, fully mature elephant.
A strong elephant capable of breaking away from the chains that have held it all this while.
However, it still doesn’t break that chain.
It still believes: “I have tried and I haven’t succeeded.. What is the point of even trying anymore?”

And that’s our story as well. 

We have become stronger, yet we believe we cannot break past the chain.
We have the power, yet we lack the courage.
We know we can move forward today, yet we decide to live like who we were yesterday.

What if we asked ourselves: “Am I still tied to a chain that I couldn’t break in the past?”

You are one day stronger today.  You have the strength. All you need is courage. To break the chain. Of your mind.