Hey young person! Or any one at all. Life is personal and imperfect, weird and quirky, short and spontaneous. And you can not please everyone you meet in your life. Therefore, you should not feel guilty just because you think you did not do or say something the way it is expected of you.
I learned this the hard way, from my own life. Always apologising does mean people will suddenly see you or treat you with respect. So while it is good to be considerate and conscious of how your life affects others, here are a few things you absolutely don’t need to feel guilty about.
Saying “no”
I have found myself in so many ruts because I could not say no. Also, I have taken jobs I could not handle and work that did not pay me my worth just because I could not say no. Thankfully, I have since learnt to say no and realise that other opportunities will come eventually.
Your career goals
People are always going to shoot you down. (Whether they mean well or not.) They’ll tell you your plans are too big, it’s been done before, or the market is too saturated. You should not stop your projection because of all that negativity. Never be ashamed of what your career plans are. You know yourself better than anyone else.
Your personal life choices
The worst people in the world have to be the judge relatives or random people that see you after a long time and ask questions like, “so how many kids do you have now?” Or “so you’re not married?
You definitely should not feel guilty around these people. It is totally okay to be 35, single with no kids. Life goes at different paces for different people and everyone should respect that.
Unfollowing people and unsubscribing to emails
Do not feel guilty about unfollowing people on social media. If they are stressing you out or you are not about their lifestyle, do well to let them go even if it is just by an unfollow button. Social media is an energy exchange. If you aren’t getting the right vibe off something or someone, do well to let it go.
Same for email subscriptions and other subscriptions.
Your imperfections
If there’s one thing you should not feel guilty about, it’s your physical flaws and imperfections. You literally did not create yourself. So you should never feel embarrassed for having a not-so- perfect nose or not-so-straight face.
Embrace your uniqueness and love yourself too much that nothing anyone says will get to you.
Spending a lot of money
You should be diligent with money, that’s for sure. No one likes to go overboard and then end up broke later. But on the other hand, you should not feel guilty for spending some extra on something that you love or enjoy. Especially if it is a reward for something you have worked hard for.
Not pleasing everyone you love
We want to make our parents happy. We want our partners to be proud of us. But we are human and can’t please every single person. Don’t feel guilty about not being able to meet every single expectation of you. Relax and work on yourself at your own pace. Your sanity and happiness is most important.
Giving yourself a break
This one is very important. Even when people work too hard, they still feel a tang of guilt when they want to put their legs up and have a good time. Don’t feel guilty for taking a break. Don’t feel guilty for binging on Netflix, don’t feel guilty for having a tub of ice cream or indulging in your cheat meal. Or taking a vacation or leaving your toddler in someone else’s capable care for a day.
What other things do you want to stop feeling guilty about?