Dare To Be Mean

She dreams...she works...she grows...she gets better and no matter what, she never stops believing in herself. Her goals run through her veins, keeping her alive ….brining bliss into her life every moment.

We all want to be happy don’t we? And at the same time, we want people around us to be happy too and the kind ones, the generous ones prefer going that extra mile to raise the number of smiling faces around them. But alas! In the process sometimes they tend to lose their own essence, dimming their own life. A lot of us can relate to this and well, also through the emotional ups and downs of not being appreciated for our sacrifices.

A Selfish Move

As children, we were taught to be ‘selfless’, to serve mankind and to make a positive difference around. But I feel that ‘growing up’ is a lesson that is far better and significant than all the morals put together from these childhood bed-time and school textbook stories. Prioritizing yourself or others is not as simple and defined like the squares of a chessboard.  It’s a continuum and practically there have to be times where you have to give up your desire of societal betterment and put in all the energy into your own self. After all, you too are an important creation of the Universe! And frankly, if people see it as a ‘Selfish Move’, then so be it!

Drawing the line

Your friend may have called you a dozen times since morning, ranting about her break-up and you may have been stressed out with all her complaints narrated repeatedly even while there’s already a lot of chaos going on in your own little world. It’s not wrong, but in fact wise if you avoid her for the next few days or maybe weeks. When your own life is a mess it has to be your top priority to sort things out. Defining boundaries is a necessity in today’s world and while the ones with a good conscience will understand, the rest will rebel. They will label you as “Being Mean”. Take it into your stride and move ahead for the fact is that you cannot build up someone else by stepping onto your own pieces.

Your efforts are precious

Want to help people? Good idea! But first, check if they really need help and if yes, do they deserve it? Are they even trying to get things sorted at their end? You cannot keep pulling up people hanging mid-air when all they do is extend their hand and then give in to the force of gravity. Your resources are precious and once you start respecting yourself in totality, you will spontaneously be selective about putting in efforts for others, even if it is something as intangible as emotional support.

Are you ‘Mean’?

The world is indeed a funny place where people constantly tag you with names and titles to manipulate your existence. Whether these labels are thrown at you in the form of high tide waves or sent as undercurrents, if these words touch your heart, you’ll be washed way into the sea! Words like ‘mean’ and ‘selfish’ are so loosely used these days that people, especially the ones who see themselves through the eyes of others tend to eat up their words when all they want to do voice their wishes. Being cruel is one thing, but while you can give up some of your desires for others’ sake, putting your own mess ahead of sorting out other people’s lives should ideally not be a termed as a selfish move and even if it is called so, who cares?

So.... would you dare to be ‘mean’?