Advice I Give Myself

Forget safety.
Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation.
Be notorious.”
―     Rumi

What happens if you don’t live the 9-5 lifestyle, which today is more the 8am-8pm lifestyle? What if you don’t settle down, have a college degree, have a husband or wife, 1.5 kids, a white picket fence, and a house with a mortgage? What happens if you don’t pursue what society deems as practical, normal, or right? What happens if you don’t fit in the box someone else thinks you and everyone else should fit in? Is something wrong with you?

If you decide to live outside the norm, in my experience, someone will tell you that yes, there is. That someone could be a parent, a colleague, an aunt or uncle, a friend, or a stranger.

 It takes guts to live outside the norm, to disregard trying to keep the status quo. Pursue something that makes you happy instead of pursuing something that makes you fit in. We all want different things. Truthfully, a lot of the things I want for myself and my life would be considered normal. Many things however, are not. As an acupuncturist, I work in a field of medicine that is not always recognized by others. I have been called a witch doctor, a voodoo lady, crazy, naïve, and once in a while, even stupid for choosing it as a part of my profession. This is just the beginning of my list of wrongdoings. I am sure you have yours as well.

Whoever you are, whatever you want, the advice of the day is this: Go for it. Listen to yourself. Become your own champion. Surround yourself with supporters and ditch the naysayers. No one else has the right or the authority to deem themselves an expert on your life. You do not have to fit inside a box or meet someone else’s expectations. You deserve to be happy, so stop listening to others, and learn to listen to yourself. As the saying goes: “what’s good for one person is not always good for another.”

Suggested Reading: The Art of Possibility by Zander as recommended to me by the wonderful and talented composer, JoAnne Harris.