Think of Yourself Less

Woe is me, is a popular sentiment right now. Many people are either angry, frightened or upset that their world has been turned upside down and they don’t know what to do with themselves.

We are asked to do something that makes us anxious and all we can think about is whether or not we will look stupid, make a mistake or end up not getting the credit we think we deserve. We spend so much time worrying about what will happen to the impression of ourselves so far that we forget that there are people also involved who may have limitations and inabilities, but who are willing to jump in the fray to get things done. They too may have doubts, may feel insecure but unlike the woe me criers, they are not willing to give life to their fears.

Then there are those among us who feel we have gotten the short end of the stick. We get offended by the most imaginary of slights that we feel doubly offended when our case is thrown out, due to a lack of real evidence. What makes it worse is that the time we spend trying to find the offense in someone’s words and actions, could have been used to do something meaningful; something that would not only bring you more joy but also others around you. We are angry or we need pity and woe unto anyone who gets in our path.

Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the fact that everything is not about us and doesn’t just happen to us. If we focus less on our problems, shortcomings and fears, we would have less reason to feel sorry for ourselves and our situations. We would also come to recognise that change and hard times are all a part of the life and if we want to be here we need to be willing to take the good with the bad. Sometimes a season lasts longer than you would have expected, but when it happens, look around to realise that you are not the only one experiencing such a season. The brilliance you see in yourself is mirrored in everyone else, so too are faults that you see in others. Look closely and you will see that you have less, the same or even more faults than you knew or are willing to acknowledge. A storm does not happen only to make your life miserable and fortune does not only smile on a few. It depends on how we view things and on whether or not we can see beyond our needs. Can we look in the mirror and realise that ours is not the only eyes looking back at us, but the eyes of all who have in some way played a part in where we are, whether or not we have ever met them face to face.