Who Are You Living For? | The Odyssey Online
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Who Are You Living For?

Have you been living your life for yourself or for someone else?

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Who Are You Living For?
Alex Elle

Today, we are not masters but rather victims. There is an absence of security and demand in our lives because we are not in control. We are not living for the means of ourselves but for other people. As a society, we have grown to be comfortable with coming second to our own lives. We consider the feelings of others before our own and make decisions not based on our intuitions but for the sake of someone else's sanity; there is no balance for our sake because we are exhausting and stripping ourselves from our own destined happiness. These false beliefs of sticking to what is "supposed" to be right or what makes sense in the minds of others has led us to receive the shorter end of the bargain -- we are continuously cheating ourselves.

Our loyalty does not start with the care of someone else but with ourselves first. The love that we pour onto other people to show our commitment, to validate our trust, and to express our devotion most times goes unnoticed. But, we fail to take action and separate ourselves from the ones who do not appreciate our love because we feel as though we "know" the "real" them and the person they portray is not who they really are. We tend to create these "images" of people and grow disappointed when they have not fulfilled those characteristics we have created for them. This denial that blinds us from the real truth is the root of our let downs, disappoints, and incompleteness. Once we start living our lives for ourselves and no one else then we will finally become the masters of own happiness. We cannot keep living a life that we do not enjoy, a life that does not fulfill our desires both mentally, physically, and most importantly emotionally.

Our satisfactions cannot be met if there is not a common ground between ourselves and our loved ones. The eyes of each party must meet and read each other accordingly. If we fail to do so then one of us will get hurt, one of us will feel spiteful towards one another, one of us will want to be out of each other's lives forever -- neither of us will win.

Yes, there are times when our happiness has to be considered first as opposed to someone else's. And yes, that will lead to an individual's feelings to get hurt but as we mature and "let them go" that will rid them of any emotional poison that they may have received if we continued to "string them along". Being able to release someone for your own well-being coincides with the person you let go because they are now able to find their own love and or happiness that was destined specifically for them. We all win in the face of happiness and love.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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