What does the world owe you?

The world owes me nothing.

Any time I am frustrated by the utter lack of power I have over anything external I turn the question on myself.

I owe it to myself to see the world through the eyes of a beginner. With awe. With wonder.

I owe it to myself to assume others have good intentions and are trying their best. It’s better to travel through life unburdened by suspicion, better to be disappointed sometimes than to be encumbered always.

I owe it to myself to banish blame. I prefer to be accountable for who I am and what I do.

I prefer to be powerful.

I owe it to myself to imagine the best-case scenario instead of the worst-case scenario. They are equally plausible and when the worst does happen it only hurts one time, instead of the recurring blows inherent in fervent anticipation.

I owe it to myself to interpret the story of my life in a way that casts me as fortunate.

I owe it to myself to learn to ignore my inner voice any time it tells me I can’t do something. The world imposes enough limits on me. I don’t need to contribute against myself.

I owe it to myself to remember that the difference between an adventure, (exciting) and an obstacle (frustrating) is how I choose to see it.

I owe it to myself to identify what I don’t like within me and dedicate all the resources available to me to address them.

I owe it to myself to love and admire the people closest to me. We become so much of what we surround ourselves with.

I owe it to myself to find cruelty unacceptable.

If a series of conclusions can all be equally true, I owe it to myself to choose the option that makes me suffer the least. To suggest to myself that “he never really loved me” is absurd, and needlessly painful.

I owe it to myself to believe in luck, in miracles and in magic. I owe it to myself to believe in absurdly frequent serendipity. I owe it to myself to believe that anything can happen.

I owe it to myself to see that I am always learning something new.

I owe it to myself to not believe everything I think.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.

Thank you ... The world doesn’t owe me nothing (intentional double negative), never has, never will.

As much as I hate this, but it happens to be the case. Of course, everyone is free to believe whatever they want. But be careful, believing that the world owes you anything is very dangerous. I personally abandoned this notion a while ago, and with that, I did myself a big favor.

There’s clearly no proof whatsoever that the world owes me anything, or that it even cares. This sounds pessimistic, but I believe that realizing the ugly truth is still better than basing our life on an illusion.

In fact, I think it’s liberating to adopt this mindset. You, then, won’t have to depend on some magical power to save you, lift you up, or give your life meaning. You’ll do it yourself, feel in control, and proud.

We all want to feel protected, important to the world, and even necessary to its existence, which is why we are gravitated to the notion that the world owes us something. Too bad this isn’t true, not unconditionally, at least.

We can build ourselves up, and become important and necessary. This comes by hard work, by learning, and being strong enough to try again and again.

Do you want to add a word or two?.... 

The world owes you nothing,

Many of us believe that the world, i.e other people, are committed to appreciate your merits and skills, and that you deserve such such of a positive outlook, good reputation and respect.

However, external perspective, reputation and respect may be important for the individual’s self-confidence and self-admiration, however these are things which are out of our control.

Our reputation is something we may affect and be under some of our influence, but not control and order around.

Respect too is a relative concept, meaning that some people would grant you this, and some people shall not. Nonetheless you cannot choose what respect and how many of it you may receive externally; you can only behave in a way that may encourage or discourage its amount, quality and reception.

Your comments ….

Respect too is a relative concept, meaning that some people would grant you this, and some people shall not.

Nonetheless you cannot choose what respect and how many of it you may receive externally; you can only behave in a way that may encourage or discourage its amount, quality and reception.

I also think this is a very meritocratic quote. Meritocracy means a social construct where people rise, succeed or fall and fail according to their own merits, thus presenting us a harsh world where one cannot simply receive the support and goodwill from their environment.

This is indeed a very competitive world, where people ought to prove themselves, their expertise, performance and craftsmanship in every time in their lives where they are among other people.

 If I were to continue this quote I would add that only the individual themselves owe themselves something, and that something is not only survival but to actualize their talents and worth in an active, disciplined and autonomous way.

This is why people who believe they deserve more recognition from the world without doing anything may be very arrogant, childish, whiny and lazy individuals.

This is also the harsh meaning of independence, but a meaning which is essential for a happy and satisfying life: to see the seeds you yourself have planted, watch them grow and prosper thanks to your craft. Just like, one may say, a piece of writing which slowly but gradually gains more views and approval.

If you liked this post from DAYAL why not share it?