For months, I’ve complained about being bored out of my mind with nothing else to do than to stare at the four corners of my room. It took eight or more months to notice, but my room does not have four corners, it has five. In that very manner, I have exaggerated my problems. I liken the situation to voluntarily putting yourself in a corner and complaining that your problems have cornered you. Or locking yourself in a room and complaining that you’ve been trapped. In essence, I have given my problems more power than they actually have. Yet, of all the troubles that come with this issue, the worst must be missing out on life and the little blessings that come with each passing day because I’m waiting for a specific blessing.
I read a lot of inspirational stories about people, what they are doing, and how they are doing it, and then I find myself falling into the trap of believing that’s exactly how my story is going to go just because I can identify with one or two aspects of their story. So, unintentionally, I work towards their life’s story: maybe if I pass here, go here, sit here for just as long, knock this door, meet her, get here, just like they did, it will work out for me too! But I’ve suffered enough disappointments through this method to learn that I have my own story to tell. And I’m not going to advance through its pages until I start to write it.
Until we start to write our own story, we may never know what our purpose is.
In order to start writing my own story, I first have to be comfortable with who I am. I have to accept my flaws, my twists and turns, I have to find my own beat and fall in love with its rhythm. In order to write my own story, I have to accept my story! In true form, of all the stories I’ve listened to, I’ve found myself most inspired by those who turned something ugly into beautiful, who found the grand in simpler things, and by those who changed the world through uncommon means. The problems we face are a part of our story, instead of allowing them to handicap us, we need to use them as the steppingstones they are. Make the best out of your situation. There’s a “the grass is greener on the other side” mentality that I think we all occasionally suffer from. It’s the kind that makes you think your story is not cool enough or as inspiring. We are so in love with the stories of others that we put a hold on ours—our growth and our purpose— and try to live out theirs. It goes back to my point of missing out on the little blessings that come our way each day because we are so caught up with waiting for that big break. Enjoy your story and stop hiding it! There’s nothing wrong with looking at another’s story for inspiration. Isn’t that what they are for? To give us hope, to push us, to make us try? Yet, we miss out on the whole point when we stop trying to tell our story and start chasing theirs.
This summer I made it a point to get out of the corner that I put myself in. I opened my eyes and my heart and decided to enjoy every little blessing of life that came my way. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started trying to make the best out of every moment. I decided to let go and let God have His way. I learned to be patient.
A friend asked me why I have been so positive with my outlook lately, and I said, “It helps me pass the time way better than moping ever will.” You can either be positive while you wait for things to get better or negative, either way you will wait, so pick the right pastime! I also realized I didn’t always have to create my own happiness; sometimes I just needed to take my eyes off the negative and on to the bright side. Count your blessings.
Read the rest of the story and more about Armenyl’s Here and Now Challenge here