Dare to Be Different

Unleash yourself from expectations

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”― William Faulkner

It felt scary and risky.

How can it be that even when we discovered something is no longer what we want anymore, but yet it’s so difficult to let go? It’s the identity, the story that has been ingrained in us since young, the patterns of behaviour that put us on cycles of people-pleasing and living on expectations of others until the inner voice gets louder and louder and we cannot ignore it anymore.

We are used to aiming for big shiny objects and climbing the success ladder. It takes true courage to stay true to who we are in our paths of career and life. I was in between freelance work this year and felt like I needed to hold on to a 9–5 full-time job to feel secure and ‘enough’. I wanted to show my parents that I’m making progress, I’m being a sensible young adult. Little did I know that my heart knows better.

And when I finally got a marketing job offer from a prestigious arts organisation that I initially was SO keen to get on board, I realised it’s not what I want anymore. And I struggled to digest this internally. Like — A LOT. It felt so difficult to understand that my values and priorities have changed, and that I can BE MORE and be who I am. I almost felt guilty for choosing to pursue what I want. I felt I haven’t ‘hustled’ enough yet to start my own venture.

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”― E.E. Cummings

Little by little, I realised that I have outgrown my old stories, and the new self is feeling a bit scared to swim to new shores. But I knew I need to practice what I preach, and cannot ignore the issues around education, youth and mental health anymore. In my own time, I started mentoring and facilitating personal growth groups for young women across Asia and found myself accidentally crossing over to coaching. I believe at this moment, there’s something calling me to go bravely towards the path of being a wellbeing and life educator, to spread the peace, joy and growth I have found for myself.

It doesn’t mean that it will be all smooth sailing and without challenges in choosing a path you want, but it will mean that you will find more fulfilment and inner peace with yourself each day. We all should bring out the strengths and passions we were meant to pursue, something that really lights us up and reflects who we are.

And I’ve learned so much myself in exploring topics on authenticity, societal expectations and self-image through the sessions I lead. I also found my life purpose and will not shy away from it anymore, to be who I am truly meant to be and fully utilise my gifts of teaching and creativity to uplift others.

What about you? Have you been holding back from pursuing something you really want? What’s stopping you now?

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Straight from pages of my journal, these have helped me unblock my limiting beliefs and be more of who I’m meant to be each day.