Although this insight comes from my experience, I believe that what will make you the happiest is being yourself.
Be unique, quirky, different, find your own truth, be yourself, don’t live a common life, don’t do what is conventional, always seek your truth, etc.
Let me tell you a story. When I started writing I had no idea that I would fall in love with the process of writing and the benefits that come with writing. It led me to discover my truth instead of accepting some fixed doctrine.
Sometimes I fall into the trap of following religion or capitalism or materialism or some philosophy or some other ideology which is always a trap of finding your truth.
For example, one day some three years ago approximately, I reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is. And reading it felt good but then after a month I joined ISKCON’s Satsang and started absorbing the ideology in my mind.
I am not saying that there’s no truth in spiritual teachings. What I am saying is that your truth is not an ideology, it’s your inner wisdom.
No amount of ideology can replace your inner wisdom, your truth.
So as you might infer, I stopped going to ISKCON satsangs for various reasons but one of them was the heavy use of Hindu mythology.
I still read the Gita from time to time but I don’t subscribe to one ideology.
Now you may think what does being yourself look like?
Although I am far from perfect but for me, I journal every day and I write in my blog sometimes. This helps me observe what I am thinking daily and stay on track with living my truth.
I believe in hope and all things real like honesty, love, faith, generosity, etc. And I have social anxiety and so sometimes I am unable to be generous to all people, but I try my best to have hope most of the time.
Overcoming social anxiety is something I have to work on but that’s just what comes with the package that is called me.
Being yourself is also full of struggles. Choosing commerce or arts instead of science stream is hard when no one in your family is from commerce or arts. Choosing to work in a corporate job is hard when all your family members and relatives work in the government.
But it comes with the knowledge that you are being you. You are living life from your inner wisdom.
Have you ever travelled solo to some new place? I did. When I was in class 10, age 14, I went to the city to eat in a restaurant alone skipping tuition classes. My parents were worried thinking about where I had gone. But I returned home safely.
Also, I had done stupid things all my life with friends or alone.
Something inside me guided me. And I believe the more we allow this guidance to guide us in new situations, the wiser we become.
This is what fuelled pioneers- freedom, adventure, and self-expression.
But you may think that spiritual teachings ask us to find these values in ourselves- to find God in yourself, in man.
I guess you could say if finding God is what inspires you, then that is your truth. If someone is inspired by adventure, then that is their truth.
Conclusion
Swami Vivekananda taught humanity to believe in oneself.
And that’s why I say what will make you happiest is to be yourself, to live by your truth, to believe in yourself, and to be original and truly free.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please share this blog post and answer this one question-
What is your truth that you believe in?