That’s it.

That’s what will instantly make you a better version of yourself.

It sounds simple, but it’s really not. It’s much more complicated than that.

When I tell you to live for yourself, it doesn’t mean treating it as a morning affirmation and expecting that life will help you with that.

Living for yourself is much deeper in a way that we often always find out that in some parts of our lives, we are not living for ourselves, rather with what society tells us to live for.

So many people work jobs they hate in order to survive, and that is not living for yourself, that is survival.

So many people put up with so many toxic relationships simply because they are afraid of being alone, that is not living for yourself, that is survival.

So many people give up their dreams and their hobbies for something or someone, that is not living for yourself, that is survival.

You get the idea.

You might think you’re living but all you’re really doing is surviving. Settling with the bare minimum.

But the thing is, life isn’t all about survival.

We have made enough progress as a species that we can, in some way, afford the luxury of living. It could be hanging out with friends, going out on trips, reading and other hobbies. We can afford some things that many people didn’t before.

But instead, we have still found a way to dispense this stressful need to survive instead of live.

Somehow, now that we have more, we have more to lose. That is why we are caught up in so many things we don’t like and love, because we have more to lose.

What if you let go?

What if instead of following society’s ordained path, you follow yours?

What if instead of wanting what society wants for you, you desire what you want for yourself?

It sounds simple, but I’m sure many of you are struggling with prioritizing yourself. But if you want to become a better version, you have to take this into consideration.

Here’s an example of living for yourself.

Let’s say you enjoy reading, but you have been so caught up in so many things in life that you haven’t found any time to read.

Living for yourself means that instead of going out with a friend whom you aren’t especially fond of but only as a mean to numb yourself from perhaps the weight of working a job you hate, you decide to stay at home and read and do what YOU love. It could be reading, watching a tv show, or a movie.

This simple action of doing something you want to do could perhaps alleviate the weight of the job you hate, and after some time, it could even give you enough hope to seek a better job you could enjoy.

Another example is when someone is obviously making your life worse, but you have decided to bear their terrible treatment for a reason you yourself don’t know. Living for yourself means considering letting go of that person, because after all, even if it’s survival, you have to get away from what is causing you pain. From there, you start to live more because there is one less source of emotional pain.

These are two simple examples that are common, but I’m sure you have a specific event or situation in your life that you know is hurting you or perhaps disturbing you, but you haven’t had the courage to let go of.

Of course, there are more complicated situations. After all, life isn’t all sun shines and rainbows. There are situations in which you can’t escape, and by trying to escape, it’ll make them worse. I believe these are afflictions each one of us is cursed with.

Whether we like it or not, some parts of our lives are going to be terrible and perhaps with no exit door.

That’s the hard pill to swallow.

But leave it at that, don’t turn it into a plague that is going to infect every other part of your life.

.