quick: someone you love dearly shares with you what they want to experience in life + it doesn’t align with what you want for yourself or even what you wish for them to experience.
what do you do?
do you offer well wishes + support?
do you try to talk them out of their choice(s)?
do you provide advice, information, + feedback from past experiences?
do you smile + nod, then change the subject?
over the years, we’ve been programmed to accept others on our own terms.
when they don’t meet our expectations,
when they don’t behave as we wish for them to behave,
when they don’t bend to our will for their life as we have bent to the will of others who had something to say about ours,
we can be totally dismissive of them, of their desires, + of their choices for their life.
so how do we support others when their lifestyle choices don’t meet our expectations for own lives?
the answer is simple + complex at the same time.
accept others for who they are,
have patience with others as they explore life,
+ give others the space to live their lives on their own terms.
freewill is our birthright.
the beauty in life is that like you, others get to choose the ways in which they want to enjoy their lives.
more importantly, you have your own business to attend to, fam.
concentrate your efforts on giving your best, taking purposeful + intentional action that not only aligns with who you are at your core, but also shows others what it looks like to bring your dreams to life.
can you disagree? contest? talk it out? remove yourself from harms way? absolutely!
the long + short of it is this: the ways in which others choose to live their lives is their decision to make + there is really nothing you can do about that.
accept what is, even when your acceptance challenges your current perspectives on how life is to be lived.
the possibilities to live a full + rich life are endless —
do what is necessary for you to live life on your own terms.
be you, be dope!
Phylicia Sadsarin
Mindset Coach
journal prompt(s) for today:
when someone wants to live differently than you, in what ways do you give them space to be who they are + make their own decisions without your personal interference?