A realization that made me stop taking life too seriously
The highly intelligent, disciplined individual may have no friends, but an understanding person is rarely lonely.
Sometimes, I’ll stay awake in bed for 2 hours because a small worry triggers a chain of fears and anxieties. I’ll look on Instagram and feel jealous of other star athletes’ fame, fun, and glory, because I am not a star athlete, not even on Varsity. I’ll start wishing I had someone else’ life. Failing my behind-the-wheel test makes me doubt that I will ever get into a good college.
Does this sound irrational? Totally. I can create a strong argument why each one of those thoughts are ridiculous, but I feel them anyway. I don’t know any person who reads more self-help/psychotherapy books than I do—come to me with a problem, and I can cite research-based approaches to solve it—but I still overreact to miniscule things, fear unlikely possibilities, and doubt myself all the time.
So I’ve come to let go of the part of my ego that holds itself obligated to perfectly execute all psychology and productivity knowledge 100 percent of the time. Feeling such pride is a death trap. Recognizing my own weakness, the fight-flight primitive response of my amygdala overriding rationality, is humbling. It slows me down before I rush to judge another: “she lacks discipline,” “he acts solely based on emotions”. It brings me compassion for others.
None of us are perfect, are we? The most we can do is be understanding of each other. The highly intelligent, disciplined individual may have no friends, but an understanding person is rarely lonely. Since I neither possess unusual intelligence nor have impeccable discipline, the best I can do is be understanding.
That’s a realization which has rid me of so much pressure and made me laugh more at life instead of taking it too seriously. It’s made me happier; it’s brought me closer to people; it’s given me resilience through the toughest times, where my old perfectionistic self would not have been able to accept the reality.