jiefo Blog

Aphorisms and thoughts from my notes app

We are masters of self-hatred — we have a magnifying glass over our flaws. Our task is to escape this pitfall and turn to self-love. This is not to say we should accept ourselves as perfect; such a perfect standard is unhealthy. Instead, we should become comfortable handling our own imperfections and accept, with grace, that each of us is a little bit crazy. 

When trekking through the mud, it is time to forget about keeping your shoes clean, and rather protecting the entire rest of your body (and the backpack). Likewise, when the house is on fire, it is time to put safety first, rather than bring up how you don’t like your partner’s mother or debate what color shoes to wear that day.

Failure reveals our authenticity: our humanness.

The present moment is all we have. Yet, I have a desire to do everything and be everywhere all at once. Life is to learn how to enjoy the passage of time. When desire becomes an insatiable craving is when you have lost the present self.

Grief has revealed to me two things: I have a potent desire to be loved, and a potent desire to let my loved ones know that I love them.

On my perfectionism: doing something badly is often still better than doing nothing at all. The action puts life into motion. A great planner is nothing without execution. Many dreams die in the planning phase. This is not to say to not be prepared. However, I must allow myself the grace to adjust, adapt, and be flexible.

There are two risks when faced against decisions. The first risk is lack of preparation. This is what most people fear; and this fear often elongates the time upon making the change. The second risk, however, is inaction, and we are often blind to this risk.

Do not let thoughts of “what if it goes poorly?” stop you from doing things and chasing experiences that might result in “what if this goes well?” We are so often held back by our fear of a response rather than the event itself. Rejection, embarrassment, and failure last merely a short moment in contrast to regret. 

Why do I exist? The existentialist has no inherent answer; the answer is to create myself.

The more I can live life through a lens of compassion and love, toward myself and others, the better off the world will be.

Be slow to judge; remain in search of and receptive to new information; allow yourself (and others) grace to change your mind and opinions based on new information. You never know what internal or external biases you are operating under.

Some funny, ironic thoughts: 

-am I even good enough to have imposter syndrome?

-do I have body dysmorphia, or is my body actually just not growing/changing?

-am I indecisive, or just extra cautious?

Let me know which aphorism/thought resonates with you the most and whether or not you think I should expand on any one of these!