Decide for yourself

I’ve been listening to a lot of Sara Bareilles lately and am a particularly big fan of her lyrics which often speak to the importance of being true to ourselves. 

Lyrics from her song King of Anything resonated with me this morning: 

All my life I’ve tried to make everybody happy / While I just hurt and hide / Waiting for someone to tell me that it’s my turn to decide / Who cares if you disagree? / You are not me / Who made you the king of anything

Some of us have been socialized all our lives to make decisions that first and foremost support the expectations of other people. 

…only to realize at some point down the road that something doesn’t feel right. 

If you or someone you know are at this point, consider this a friendly nudge to remember to ask yourself of future decisions: ‘does this sit right with me?’

Instead of “does this job make sense?” or “will this others approve of me doing this job?”, ask: “will I feel fulfilled in this job?”

Instead of “do these connections make sense — are they logical”, ask: “do the connections I’ve invested in or am considering investing in feel right for me?”

We’re all built to be a part of a tribe, I get it. 

But if you hide parts of yourself, you may repel the right people and end up attracting the wrong ones.

By learning to be yourself, you’ll achieve the opposite. 

The Daily Spark exists for two reasons:

1. To document one idea every day that I've found helpful in my life.
2. To inspire you to discover what matters most and to take action towards it.

Reading subscription: LinkedIn, Substack, and Medium.

Audio subscription: Spotify, Anchor, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, and RadioPublic.

About me:

I'm a second-generation Taiwanese American trying to find life’s greatest sources of meaning and make the most out of it.