Life is meant to be lived. But how can we live happily if we’re afraid of everything? The feeling of waking up in the morning and instead of being grateful for another day, we don’t even want to start the day. The mind that always full of "what if’s"— for something we never done and for something we will merely do, both because of dreads. We are becoming a slave of these uncontrollable and repetitive thoughts. It feels tedious to deal with our inner self that only believe that we are incapable. The person who should trust our abilities first is the one who criticize us the most by seeing every mistake as our own identity.
Doubt is equal to fear.

We doubt what we can do, consequently we fear if we really can do it.
Some of us believe with all our hearts what our mind says: "you can’t overcome that", "you’re not good enough, she/he is better that you", "you’re not capable of accomplishing anything", "your works are ugly", "you should be afraid, because they’re stronger than you".

It's exhausting! It's depressing to hear those thoughts coming from your own mind because most of the time you'll not have a choice but to believe it anyway. We become so dreadful with people's opinions and actions. Even in fact, we know deep inside ourselves that it shouldn't matter. We, ourselves should matter the most than whatever they're thinking about us. However, it's still not easy to feel it that way. If only we are made to feel the emotions based on the truth and what we want, then surely, we will not choose to fear. Who wants to experience anxiety?

What's worst in having a severe fear is when you cry so hard already but those tears will still not be enough to wash negativities and pain. The feeling that there's a huge stone inside your chest and hindering you to believe that everything will be okay and you'll figure it out too.

If you are someone who fears a lot about the future, academics, people’s opinions, or any situation, I want to say you’ve been so brave even without realizing it. Feeling anxiety is not easy and requires strength just by living with it every day. I want to remind you of your potential. You may not see it right now for certain reasons, but I assure you that you have it. No matter how skill-less you think you are right now, you’ll never know what you will have and possess in the future.The future is definitely unknown, but it shouldn’t be scary; rather, it should be exciting. We are focusing too much on what will happen later or sooner, but isn’t this present moment more significant? The present is a gift. We will miss this gift if we think about things that aren’t happening yet and are out of our control. Moreover, if the cause of our fears is people doubting us, then this is when we need to have faith in our talents and capabilities to prove to them that WE ARE ABLE.

You can do this, love. We can do this! Above all, we have God whom we can rely on whenever we’re feeling weak and scared. As what He always say in the scripture: Don’t be afraid, God is with you. What can a merely mortal do onto you?

Let us challenge ourselves to try something that we feel afraid of but make sure that we will believe in ourselves and God wholeheartedly this time.

We are capable, only if we will try to do it with faith.

God bless you!

I don’t know who you are, but…

Please, continue living.

I know life’s hard. Sometimes, everything just feels so heavy to carry. Hearts aching. Minds overthinking. Souls losing interest. And we feel purposeless. We don’t know anymore where we are going. Life seems pointless. Suddenly, we feel lost.... and alone.

I feel you.

There are times when we just want to stop, sit, and cry in our room but we just can’t, because of many responsibilities life has given us. We don’t know what to do anymore, we want to rest but at the same time we can’t find it. It’s really tiring. We beg God with tears to please stop the pain or at least reduce it, but for some reason He didn’t do it. However, it doesn’t mean that God is not listening, I believe He has plans.

We can’t help but cry anywhere, even in public places. We didn’t like it. We didn’t choose it. Of course we don’t want to show vulnerability to anyone we don’t trust. But it happened. Because no matter what we do and where we are, we still remember how unfair life is.

We hear our family, friends or classmates laughing together at a joke. But we find ourselves hearing the joke and still having no reaction— realizing that it’s not enough to make us forget the pain we’re feeling, the situation we’re in, the thoughts that keep replaying in our heads. That’s when we know that the pain is already too much— It is not just what hurts our heart but also what make us want to stop living our life. The feeling of waking up in the morning with a heavy heart, even though you know you just cried so hard last night.

Now, read this.
I want you to breathe. Take your time to feel the pain. Cry. It’s okay. The moment that you’re reading this, I want to tell you that I’m so proud of you! You’re still here.
Why don’t you continue until the end?

You are so strong, you already proved it to yourself. You surpassed challenges you thought you couldn't. Because, life is actually amazing. Despite of everything we are going through, we are still capable to change our life. We are still able to recover and make more beautiful memories with our loved ones especially with ourselves. We shouldn't forget to make ourselves happy too. Enjoy life and do everything your heart desires. We repeatedly suffer, yet there are days when we can choose to cherish every moment. No matter how old you are, I know that you still have things you wish to do or even dreams you want to achieve. Life is beautiful, you can still go for it. You have freewill.

If you think you’ll be forever in the darkness, I’ll tell you, there’s still a light on the other side of life. There’s a sun after the rain. There’s a hope even during a pain. You’re aching, but it doesn’t mean that you’re already losing everything. And if you do, you can still bring it back, but if it’s no longer possible, then let it go and bring something better in your life. Bring back your spark. You’re capable of it. No one wants to stay broken forever, get out of it. You have so much time to make everything lighter. You may feel like you’ve wasted so many days, hours, and opportunities because you were stuck in despair. But you still have "now". It’s not too late— not to take back or change the past— but to start over. Pain is normal, but you should also normalize getting back up and being happy again. You shouldn’t let anything or anyone stop you from being being free. Free yourself.

I’m rooting for you, fighter.
Everything will be okay. Choose it when you’re ready. You’re capable of doing this.

God bless you!

The world scream different noises. Those stressful news about war and death. But worse than that are the negative voices around you. Those various of opinions, standards and expectations from the society. People trying to control you and judge you for being who you are.
That’s tiring, actually.

Society today gives a lot of discrimination about physical body, emotions and actions without realizing that it’s significantly affecting someone’s overall view of her/himself. Society question and observe how we live our lives, mostly on social media and criticize it. It’s devastating to read negative comments about ourselves especially if we want to please other people by always adjusting ourselves to be fulfilling on their eyes.

The invalidation you get from your friends or just someone you know, when you open up to them... I hope that it will never becomes a reason for you to see yourself as "too dramatic".

The harsh words that you hear from family that lower your self-esteem... I hope they don’t affect you too deeply, especially when you’re trying so hard to win in life.

There’s so much loudness that can make us feel like giving up. That is why, it’s necessary to have a place where you can be able to breathe, relax and just be yourself.

I’m not talking about something or literal place, which doesn’t have feelings to understand you. Neither another person, who changes overtime. But, I’m referring to you as your own person. As a person who can understand you the most.

Make time to check on yourself. Rest your body. Calm your heart and mind. Save your energy for a next fight. And build a home within you. It’s never a self pity, it’s self love. You have to give importance on your mental health. Because it’s one of the essential key to remain genuinely happy. Don’t lose yourself by just exposing yourself all the time to everyone’s different view and definition of you. Sometimes, you have to run away from the world and stay with this safest place you gave to yourself, even for a short moment.

Writing your thoughts, talking to yourself and just feeling your own presence are different kind of therapy and a home we can experience within us.

Learn when you need to deal with this worst side of society and when to rest in your built home. Take care. Never forget that mental health matters.

God bless you!

🖋️ This story was published on Thinking Block
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I dream about being a great speaker someday: inspiring, motivating, and giving hope to a lot of people. But what they think the problem with me is, is that I am shy and too introverted. It's hard for me to communicate with others, articulate ideas effectively, and face people with confidence.

Nevertheless, they are wrong. I may be that person right now, but that isn't the problem.

The problem for humans not achieving their dreams is that they're not trying enough. They're scared of failure. Moreover, they're fearless of not failing—which I'm definitely not.

No matter how shameful it is to speak in public while your voice is sputtering, hands are shaking, and eyes seem like they’re about to cry, I still try to show up, even if it is so imperfect most of the time.

I just grab every opportunity that comes in. I keep on gaining experience, reflecting on my performance, and reviewing what things I should improve now.

Because I believe that if you really want to fulfill a goal, master a skill, and achieve a dream—you need to be tenacious.

Never stop and never become afraid of continuously committing mistakes.

Be okay with it. Be resilient. Be happy. Because it just means you'll be going too far.

Failing means you're trying, learning, and growing. While never failing might mean you never dared to begin.

We know that the first one is better, but the real question is: Are you choosing it?

It’s really pretty good to do nothing—just chilling inside the room or scrolling on social media all day. Because the consequences of these bad habits are delayed and the immediate outcome is enjoyable, perhaps the ultimate outcome is bad, as mentioned in Atomic Habits by James Clear.

You'll love now not trying today, but you'll regret someday not trying today.

That's why, even if it feels like you just want to sink into the ground because of countless failures, try more. Keep going. Your hard work will pay off someday.

Get out of your comfort zone and run toward your dream.

Let yourself fail and improve. Every fall is a step forward. Just keep walking.

God bless you!

“We always want what we don’t have”. A phrase that, whether we admit it or not, we’ve all experienced.

It's always been easy to envy someone else's life without even knowing their whole struggle just to get where they are. That's why we become blind to the beauty of our own lives. It robs us of the opportunity to appreciate what God has given us.

You see others enjoying their life at parties—drinking, making friends, and dating—but you never see the goodness in you reading books, learning, and being productive each day.
You see others being young and yet a strong and independent, but you never notice the face behind the mascara they wear just to hide the pain, sadness, and longing for their parents.
You see others laughing too hard, assuming they have a good life, but you never know the traumas they've been through and the problems they always wanted to forget.

See? We don't know everyone’s full story.

Instead of comparing yourself to them, why don’t you appreciate yours?

Why don’t you love yours?

Most importantly, why don’t you just improve yours?

Being ungrateful kills dreams, destroys paths, keeps you stuck where you are, and stops God from showering you with blessings.

However,
Being grateful builds happiness, creates paths, makes you want to live more, and tells God you’re ready for more blessings from Him.

The world is unfair for giving others the best life you’ve always wanted, but one thing I assure you: what’s for you will always be for you; no one can ever rob that. To unlock it, just recognize what you already have right now and be thankful.

God bless you!

The use of robots like service robots and humanoid robots is trending in today’s society, where we can command them, say hurtful words, and overuse them without causing them pain.

I just want to remind you that you are not like them. You have a physical body that moves whenever you want it to, but pushing it too hard will leave you exhausted.
You are not like them. You have a mind and consciousness that are essential parts of being human—your words can hurt, and overthinking can mess up your day.
You are not like them. You have a heart that beats to keep you alive—but it is sensitive. It gets tired. It aches. It cries for relief.

That’s why, BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF.

Do not treat yourself like a robot and go beyond your limitations. Do not punish yourself by forcing yourself to be perfect all the time, because you’re not. You are not perfect, so you will sometimes fail, commit sins, and make bad decisions. And that is okay. That is normal. I’ve done it a lot of times too. Do not forget that we’re allowed to slow down, to breathe, to be imperfectly human.

We have limits, and those limits are not weaknesses. They’re what make us real.
Let yourself make all of those mistakes—because it is human nature to experience and learn.

You’re just human, so BE HUMAN.

God bless you!