From our earliest years, we are told we can do whatever we set our mind to. We believe it and conjure up images of what limitless potential could look like. Nothing surpasses the heights of our aspirations.
As we grow older, that belief fades. The same people that once told us that the world was our canvas now instruct us to be practical and realistic, encouraging us to find safety and security.
This messaging casts fear into the deepest parts of our being. Where carelessness once existed in a wide-eyed youngster, anxiety for the future is now housed. Worries of status, security, and freedom inhibit our ability to submerge into a place of peace.
This leads to continual questioning of purpose, countless tragedies arising in imagination, and a dampening of spirit. Where we were once invigorated and passionate for exploration, we constrain ourselves to what we are told we should do. Often times these things aren’t even mentioned in the same breath as being happy.
Freedom appears again when we let go of these attachments. Caring what others think, looking for happiness in the future, and reflecting on mistakes we have made. All of these things act as a barrier from a life full of experience and free from regret.
In removing expectations, we add a world of opportunity, unbound by the constructs passed across generations.