We All Need To Break Routine Every Once In A While.

It won't be easy. It would mean getting out of our comfort zone, trying out new - sometimes scary - things, and possibly failing. But it's better than stagnancy, better than the predictable drone that our existence sometimes turns out to be. And in the end, breaking routine is the only real way to grow.

We Can't Expect Everyone To Like Us.

I know, this is one rule to happiness - to remember that we can't please everyone, that not all of the people we meet will like us. 

I should be mature enough to know this, right?

Well, yes. But, there are still situations when I get affected and feel bad every time I find myself confronted with this issue. I've been battling with my tendency to be a pleaser ever since I realized how bad the effect it was having on me, and in many instances I have succeeded.

Every now and then, though, comes a situation that brings back all the negative emotions I've tried to do away with during the past years. Every now and then, I would be facing a challenge that would put all my previous efforts to the test. And in certain instances, I would realize that I've not really totally gotten rid of this unhealthy tendency. And then I would feel like everything I've done has been put to waste, that I've not actually advanced from where I'd been before.

Here I am still, wanting to please people, feeling the need to get others' approval. And every time I get affected by others and feel bad about it, I know I'm not only feeling bad because someone doesn't like me. More than that, I feel bad because I realize that the pleaser in me is still here.

So, how should I react? I've always believed emotions are beyond our control, that they're neither right nor wrong. 

I realize I must forgive myself every time I feel this - every time I face a similar situation and fail. I shall get affected and feel bad, yes, but I must remember that this is part of the growth. That I'm not yet done growing. This could be a lifetime process, but that's life - some changes, especially big ones, take a long time to occur. 

I know I have to face whatever challenge is thrown my way. I know these are all part of the test, and someday I shall reach that level of maturity that I've been hoping for. So today I may fail, I may feel disappointed, but at the end of the grieving and the frustration I shall pick myself up and move forward, advancing a little from where I've been.

I shall make this!