aliawijaya_

“If you don’t spend enough time truly getting to know yourself, eventually you’ll start believing in the version of you that was shaped by other people.”

Don't Let It Break You Twice Your ability to not feel the need to defend yourself is your real strength. You have to train yourself to not let anyone, any word, anything impact you in such a way that it completely takes control over you. You cannot let people's gossip break you into the pieces that you have worked so hard to collect. You have to train yourself to come to a 'calm place' mentally such that no matter what they say or do, it doesn't trigger you. If they are mocking your past, or insulting you hiding it beneath the mask of fake laughs, don't let it break you. Don't let it trigger you to become that angry, frustrated person who you never wished to be. It's not about 'not standing' for yourself. No! No!! It's rather about not giving them what they want, i.e, your reaction. You have to realise that you have worked hard on yourself and you cannot let anyone take that away from you. Even if unintentionally, somehow some people or some events will eventually turn out to be opposite of what you want, yet it's your power to hold yourself together that will transform you into a person who cannot be triggered or controlled by the outside events. Sure, there will be times when you will break down or you might end up reacting badly, but that's also because you are a human. Forgive yourself quickly for such outbursts. And if possible, not to over analyse or over stretch the matter in your mind - turn it upside down and think how you could have reacted differently. If it broke you once, let it not break you twice. Take your lesson and learn that when you react to something that you never wished to, it always end up hurting you. When you speak bad, it aches your heart. So let the world not take over you. Train yourself to not be triggered. Find validation from deep within your heart so you don't lose your calm when someone else's definition of you isn't exactly true. Try to be a calm person whose strength is in their silence not in their words.

I have learnt many things from life, but the most profound lesson so far is this: everything can change in the blink of an eye. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Moments you never imagined could happen will occur, while plans you once envisioned may never come to pass. That is why they say life is unpredictable. It can feel frightening, yet somehow I can see the beauty within that uncertainty. There is joy and adventure, yet also misery and setbacks. There is love and serenity, but also loss and grief. And it is this constant dance between opposites that makes every single moment of life so precious. For life is never just one thing or the other. It is the entire spectrum of experience, from the darkest depths to the brightest heights. We cannot choose one while rejecting the other. To shield ourselves from pain is also to close ourselves off from joy. Just as the stars cannot shine without the darkness, we too must move through it all. And perhaps, when the end eventually comes, we will be able to say, we made life worth it because we chose to live.