It Is My Life and I’m
Going to Live It My Way

A number of years ago I made a choice. It is my life and I’m going to live it my way!

If you are tired of living your life according to other people’s goals, it’s time to take a stand and tell the world, 'It is my life.'

Most of us have had numerous expectations placed on us since birth, if not before! If the dreams your parents and grandparents had for your future were simply that you grow up healthy and happy, you are fortunate.

Many families hold high hopes that their offspring will excel in their studies, attend certain schools, and follow a particular career path. It might also have been stated or implied that you should grow up to be heterosexual, get married to a ‘suitable’ partner, and have children.

While none of these things are bad in themselves, and a good education is definitely a huge asset, living life according to the expectations of others is not the way to personal fulfillment. If you are still trying to live a life that is not right for you, it’s time to say with words and actions, ‘It is my life and I need to live my way.’

We also encounter many expectations about how we should behave within our family structures.

In my own family, I was cast in the role of responsible older sibling, and confidante to my mother. As a child, this was quite a burden to me. It made it very difficult for me to figure out who I really was, instead of trying to be the person I was told I should be. It took me a long time to really understand that it is my life and the only way I should be living it is the way that feels right to me. My way.

Placing these kinds of demands on children makes it hard for them to be themselves, and develop their own identity and self-esteem.

For those of us who are parents, it is really important to try and avoid putting this kind of pressure on our children. Being human though, and having our own limiting beliefs to overcome, we can only try our best. We will not get it right all the time.

When we reach adulthood, expectations begin to come from friends, lovers, and bosses.

Friends may expect us to be available at any time of the night or day to lend a sympathetic ear. Lovers sometimes think that we should put their needs before our own, and bosses can tend to act as if we had no life outside of work.

All of these demands are unreasonable, but guess what? Unless you stop giving in to them, they will only continue or even increase.

For many years, the voices of people around me drowned out my own. It was only when my inner voice finally started screaming to be heard that I came to believe that the only way I should be living life is my way. It is my life!

I urge you to turn up your internal volume. Drown out the noise of other people’s unreasonable expectations. Declare to yourself and those around you, ‘It is my life!’

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