We know that there are things that we can choose to let go to make our lives better, if we want to. It’s difficult, but we can choose to do it.
We know that there are things that we need to do to fulfill our needs and pursue our dreams. Those things may require sacrifice, but we can choose to do it.
This is adulthood; where you have the choice, to not have choices.
Yes, it is hard to do so, but you have the choice.
Thus, adulting made me realize that although it may be tough, I have the choice to let go of the following:
1. Black and white thinking.
Kids do this a lot. It is one of the easiest way of thinking. I mean, for real, it’s the easiest form of labelling.
You break the law? You are a bad person.
You do charity? You are a good person.
It took me a while to actually internalize that life is full of grey areas. And I do mean internalize, because as we all know too well that we should not be thinking too binarily, it takes a lot of effort to consciously remove that out of our mind. But when it is out of the mind, I feel like I could see everything clearer. The guy breaking the law could be a very good person, and the guy making charity could be hiding his worst form.
Not that I want to approve bad things, but at least now I understand; just as there are a lot of reasons for bad actions being done, there are a lot for good actions as well. Things are more that they appear to be.
2. Bad financial management.
Even if we as teenagers were not spoiled brats asking our daddy to buy things here and there, we did not worry too much about our finances. And yes, of course we all were being taught how to manage money since then, yet we barely bet an eye on it. But only after adulting has become a thing to us, then we take it seriously.
Financial management is not just about not spending frivolously. Wealth security, retirement plan, investment, budgeting, and taxes, are also included (just to name some!). All of these will make you second guess on whether or not you should buy that pair of cute jeans just because of the word ‘SALE’ in front of it.
It does not sound like the greatest thing in the world, yes. But believe it or not, letting go of bad financial management is simply setting yourself to freedom. Although you have to sacrifice immediate gratification, your mind would be at ease in the long run.
3. Unhealthy lifestyle.
I know… ugh. It seems so much easier to keep eating the instant noodles for weeks end, and never go to the gym.
But your body is a vessel, and you’re needing it for the long run. Why not take good care of it? Giving up unhealthy lifestyle, does not mean automatically setting a body standard of the Kardashians. It just simply mean, to be healthy, by exercising and dieting well.
Intense workout is not needed, especially for beginners. Just ensure that you do enough daily physical activities, instead of spending 12 hours on your chair and another 12 hours lying on your bed. And by diet here, I don’t mean to intentionally starve yourself from certain foods. It just simply mean you are taking enough nutrients that you need.
Really, when we’re talking healthy, it is not about achieving that beach body with the impossible beauty standards. It is just mean we take care of our bodies as much as we can.
Seems hard? Yeah I empathize. But ultimately, what do we want? Success.
Because you know that all of those hardships, if you overcome them, you will be successful. Success is what we need and what we want. Therefore, in this case, you will choose to not have choices.
Because you have already decide what you want and what you need in the first place; success.
Happy adulting!