Freedom

I was once a slave
A slave to people's ideas and opinions.
A conformist really.
If I wasn't conforming
I was rebelling
Against my better judgement.

I did this until I saw this same characteristic in somebody else.
A sponge that absorbed everybody's opinions but their own.
It was ugly.
It was pathetic.
It made me loath myself.
Because I saw it in somebody else, I realized how it MUST look on me.

I realized that I have a mind of my own
So... can I not come up with original ideas of my own?
Can I not comprehend and develop an opinion on what is happening around me?
Why should I lock my subconscious along with my opinions in a cage to make room for other people's ideas?
Today, I analysed somebody's opinion and  reasoned it wasn't best for it to be MY opinion.
That's when I realized that I just freed myself from a part of my mental slavery.
So... some emancipation was accomplished today.
& it feels good.

The build up.

At some point we have all watched a cliche movie where everything works out in the end.
A chick flick.
A comedy.
A dance film.
They all have the same underlining plot.
There's a dream of some kind, there's some success then eventually a setback followed by a comeback.
Most people are amazed by the finale, the grand masterpiece and then almost feel entitled to having the same thing.
The guy running up to the girl in the pouring rain and kissing her.
The underdog dance crew delivering an amazing performance, finally winning that award.
You know what I find most inspiring?
The build up.
All the little things that were done to do the Big Thing.
The thing that people forget is that it doesn't just happen.
You don't wake up one day and everything is perfect.
It's all the little things that you do that lead to that perfection.

Lets take New Year Resolutions.
So many of us try and be perfectionists with them (myself included).
They have to be ready by New Years Eve and somehow, magically you are supposed to be able to change the second the clock strikes midnight.
If it was so easy... why didn't you just do it before?
You can't, which is why by March you have already forgotten and broken your resolutions.
You are not some type of machine where new software can replace the bugs in the older type.
Your transformation is a build up.
It does not just happen.

Doing the same thing, while expecting different results is the defenition of madness.
Why do you have to limit your resolutions to perfection?
Why give up the second you get it wrong?
All you'll do is discard it and make it next years resolution... or give up on it all together.
That's why I'm PURPOSELY posting this piece late!
To inspire you to get back to those resolutions.
So you vowed to quit smoking and had a cigarette or two.
At least you've decreased the amount you were originally smoking.
Your resolution is working, sure it's taking a little longer than anticipated but it's working.
If you keep working on it, you might just get there.
So get up and keep doing what you originally wanted to do.
They are called New Years Resolutions, not "only when I do them perfectly in the beginning of the new year" resolutions.

Progress is a process so keep it moving.
That grand finale only happens when you build up to it.
What will you do today to get your perfect, almost corny and happy ending?