'Not everything you think about yourself is true'

I was scanning through one of my social media accounts recently and came across the quote "Not everything you think about yourself is true." It made a lot of sense at first glance and as usual, I saved it on my phone hoping that I would post it as a whatsApp status on one of the days. A couple of thoughts crossed my mind and I ended up concluding that the quote needed more than a WhatsApp status so I will attempt to outline why I find it to be true in more ways than one. 

There are people who look up to you

Many a time, you live without much care about how people perceive you because it is your life right? True as it might be, it is important to know that your life is an open book that is read by many from a distance. Based on how you choose to live, someone will be impacted either positively or negatively. A while back, I was talking to a former colleague who told me how I had inspired them at some point in their life, something I had no idea about at the time. Not everything you think about yourself is true, because it is not all about you. Your life choices impact others in more ways than you can ever imagine. Therefore, as you do well, there are others around you who are inspired to do well too. As you win life's battles against all odds, you rekindle hope in others who were on the verge of giving up, if you get overwhelmed and give up, you give others a reason to quit too.

You can change the world!

Very few believe that they have what it takes to change the world. Most of us believe we are too insignificant to make a difference. As a result, we do not even try because we are convinced that our efforts are just as inconsequential as a drop in the mighty ocean. To touch a life, one does not require big ideas or to have made it in life. There will always be someone who is in a worse position than you, why not help? There is someone who is walking the path that you have already traversed, why not be their compass? There is someone who is going to make the same mistake that you made, why not sound the alarm bells and save them from the consequences? There is a path that you wished you had taken earlier in life using hindsight, why not be someone's guide? Yes, not everything you think about yourself is true. You are not too insignificant. You can brighten the corner where you are, you can change the world one person at a time. Like a pebble thrown in the sea, the ripples of the acts kindness or service extended to an individual can impact generations.

You are worthy

A disadvantaged background does in no way disqualify you from succeeding in life. Life is full of people who have defied all odds by overcoming insurmountable challenges that were scattered along their paths. Therefore, you can still dream big. You might be coming from the lowest of points but that is no good enough a reason to lower your ceiling, the sky can still be the limit. I'm not ignorant of the enormous challenges that someone from a disadvantaged background may face because some of the battles are fought with hands tied behind one's back. Inspite of this, what I can assure you is that, not everything you think about yourself is true. Your background is just that, it does not define how far you can go in life. You are worthy of success. Like a fairy tale, your story can have a happy ending.

Have you been unlucky in love, because the one to whom you entrusted your heart ripped it apart? Maybe when you thought you had healed and decided to give it another go, your mended heart was left bleeding again? Now you see yourself as the problem and have given up on love. You don't think you are worthy of being loved and have accepted that love was meant for others. Can I assure you that not everything you think about yourself is true. You are still worthy of loving and being loved. If you were hurt not of your own doing, you are not the problem, but them. Love does still exist, though it bruised you in the past and left you with scars, one day it will find you and you will be happy again.

You are not infallible

Do you judge people who have made mistakes in life harshly? Maybe the page which contains the definition for the word "empathy" was ripped off from your copy of the dictionary. To you, there is no excuse for any wrong doing. They say to err is human so I guess you are superhuman. The bad news I have for you is, not everything you think about yourself is true. No, you are not perfect. You are human like everyone else, capable of doing the worst imaginable things ever imagined under the sun. We can treat each other with grace, by lifting each other when we stumble, knowing too well that no one gets it right all the time.

Better than everyone?

There are times you find yourself among a crowd where you may be the most educated, the richest, the most enlightened about a certain subject, the most senior in terms of a given hierarchy or the most gifted in a certain discipline. Possessing these attributes might tempt you to think that you are a cut above the rest. With this comes looking  down upon others by perceiving them as inferior. The bad news I have for you is, not everything you think about yourself is true. You might be the most privileged in the room, but that is just that. It does not make you any better than anybody else. Everyone is unique, capable of bringing something valuable to the table if given a chance. No one has it all. Where we lack, we are complemented by others hence no man is a self sufficient island. There are things that you might be good at but one thing for sure is that you can't be good at everything. Therefore, it is imperative to treat everyone with respect. Never get to a point of putting yourself on a pedestal. We have so much to learn from each other. By seeing others as less valuable, we fail to tap into that which they possess which could have edified us. Respect should not be given to a person because they have but rather because they are.

Not everything you think about yourself is true. If you think deeply about this quote, it will both motivate you and humble you.