How to be Proud of Who You Are and the Envy of Your Friends.😤

Published: Tue, 03/23/21

“If You Want to be Proud of Yourself, Then Do Things in Which You Can Take Pride.”

- Karen Horney

I grew up in a culture that worshipped the idea of being financially independent. It was an all-consuming goal for the poorer section of society and a beacon of hope for the middle classes. As you would imagine, some reached that goal through education, through business acumen, through talent, while others left the island in search of it on foreign shores.

Be Proud of Who You Are

The minority that made it can honestly tell you from experience that having the money is great, but to be complete, it’s just not enough. Friends have confided in me, sensing something is missing in their lives and at a loss as to why they feel lacking and unhappy. They’re missing a trick, and they know it.

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Money is very important, but experience has taught me, the pursuit of financial independence alone is a fool’s errand. For happiness and contentment, it must be tempered with four more elements that make up what I call the Pentagram of Power.

Lasting Relationships
Legacy
Financial independence
Belief in Self
Contribution

For me, these five elements are the key to living a satisfying life, a life envied, a life you can be proud of. I won’t go into my ideas on all five because they need more space and time to do them justice. I will say that striving to obtain these elements in your life is a continuous endeavor, and everyone will have varying degrees of success depending on how much they put in. What is essential to know is that whatever your level of contribution to this Pentagram of Power, you will come out of it happier and prouder of yourself.

And others will see it too.

Belief in self was always a big one for me, and I guess that’s why I focus on it so much. It’s paid dividends, especially in how I move through the world and my belief in what I’m capable of. Belief in self has made me a Speculative Fiction writer that I can be proud of. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m confident I can make an impact in the world given time.

What I’m saying, family, is you need to work on it and never stop. We teach ourselves that we are not the most talented, the most eloquent, or the most creative. Parents, teachers, and friends judge us the same way, and we act in accordance with their expectations. Believing you’re the best at what you do is considered distasteful, especially if you talk about it. I’m not saying we should be arrogant but know your worth, people. Make it real by mastering your shit.

It ain't bragging if it’s true.

Anonymous

Self-belief is a trait of the highly successful, but that belief is based on reality, the things you’ve done, and what you’re prepared to do. A reality that you created for yourself. Ultimately you will determine how far you go in life by how far you believe you can go. When everyone says you can’t, you will need to call on the empirical evidence from your hard and consistent work, not to prove them wrong but to prove you right.

This is one part of the Power Pentagram but a gateway to the rest.

I know you can do it.

I believe in you.

And In time, I pray you’ll believe in yourself, too.

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