All of us follow a script in life.

Each, according to the programming we’ve received as children and young adults.

We have been handed over a blueprint of what it means to live ‘right’.We receive this code from parents, friends and social media. There are goals that have been set for us long before we are even born. And we grow up, learning what behavior gets rewarded (for eg- getting top grades) and what behavior gets punished (pushing back on the set boundaries like TV time).

Slowly, like a chained animal that has learned to stay within an arbitrarily drawn circle of ‘goodness’- we succumb and give up the wilder versions of ourselves; the versions that challenge the script.

I do not intend to say that the boundaries that have been set for us are all bad. They have been set, at times, to keep us emotionally and physically safe. But many a times, these lines that keep us in check can be quite meaningless. Rules meant to scare us into submission.

‘Conscious living’ entails the idea of taking stock of the ways we limit ourselves. These limitations may be imposed by ourselves or by others.

People talk of getting in shape all the time but somewhere deep inside believe that they cant. That they cant resist temptations. Cant find the time to move their bodies or eat mindfully.

Once you start believing something about yourself, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For example- If you keep telling yourself that driving is too hard for you, it most likely will become so. If you keep telling yourself that you can never be on time-you never will be.

There are these stories we tell ourselves about who we are; Stories that may have a figment of truth but might not be the final truth we hold them to be.

We have but one precious life to explore and create and live fully. Why entrap ourselves into a life situation that might not really be reflective of who we are on the inside? Who told us that a good life is supposed to look a certain way?

When someone decides to do something she/he really wants which doesn’t fall within the box of conventions, it will inevitably upset a lot of people. If making everyone else like you is of paramount importance, then it becomes a whole lot harder to live life on your own terms. So, flip the table anyway.

Want to try living in a different place? You are not a tree. Move.

Want to learn a musical instrument? Don’t put if off. Start living the wish instead.

A good way to get a perspective of how well you’re spending your time would be to make inventory of how you spend a single day. If you find yourself not reading as much as you’d like but watch an hour of Instagram reels every single day, maybe you can do something about it.

Isn’t life too precious to be treated as an infinite resource when you actually just get one?

Isn’t time too less to be listening to everyone else’s opinions instead of your own?

The way you spend your time- be it cooking an extra dish for your child or attending the wedding of an acquaintance, just make sure that it really is alignment with what you really want from life.

Start standing up for yourself. Reclaim your space on the Earth. Be You again.