You ever feel like the people in your life are dictating how you react or what path you choose? There was always the misconception that family and friends would have your best interest at heart but that's not entirely true. Seeing someone else blossom and come into their own can be confusing. Human beings automatically put ourselves into the scenario in front of us. Getting a better paying job when I know you've been looking for one is different from you winning one hundred million dollars in the lottery; it conjures up mixed emotions. Of course, I'm happy for you but, I'm human and thinking of how it will affect me, you and our relationship almost instantly. The envy will only begin if I'm a spiteful person or my friend makes an abrupt change and exes me out of their lives.
People aren't as complex as we would like to believe. Our moral compass is sometimes based on the company we keep more than our own convictions. We know how we're support to act and what we're supposed to think but that's not always how we feel. It's okay to feel some type of way but it's how you react that makes the difference. Seeing someone else reach an ultimate lifetime goal should always be motivation for you to reach goals of your own. The problem in that logic is that all people don't recognize their own gifts. Not knowing your path in life will make you question anyone living out their divine purpose because you may not believe you have one.
Recently, I recognized that I was recycling relationships, not with the same people but, people with the same character traits. I was used to the people around me reacting to my talents like it was no big deal. That nonchalant attitude led me to believe that what I did wasn't important. When you're a kid you don't know how to articulate this emotion so it gets stored. Whenever I would succeed at anything I played it down. People thought I was being coy but I didn't grow up thinking my talents were a big deal. As a teen, I chose friends who downplayed my accomplishments like my family did and so on. It wasn't until my son began to play football that I realized what I'd missed. My wife and I don't know anything about football but we learned and we brought him to practices and bared the cold at every game. Although, football was not his passion and we knew this, we still cheered him on and celebrated him playing. That never happened to me. When I gained that understanding, I started cleaning out my proverbial closet and weeding out those who never cheered me on. It's been around four years of this process and I've gained a few good friends to make up for the several I've lost. It wasn't really a loss. My life is different. I know who my friends are. It also changed the way I feel about myself. It's like I stood up for myself by getting rid of all the bullies in my life and the universe is continuously blessing me.