Thoughts #4: There's Always Room to Grow

When I was younger, I used to think adults knew everything. My parents were the source of all my knowledge and they could solve any problem I had. Daddy, I don't know how to ride my bike, teach me. Mommy, how do I make soup? Why is the sky blue? Are all animals vegetarian like you? But as I slowly grow into adulthood, I'm realizing, adults don't know everything. I can't even describe the magnitude of how much I don't know.

And this brings me to my current segment: There's always room to grow.

There's a common saying, "people don't change." And, I believe it, but then again, I don't. I believe it because, yes, I think at the very basic, generic level, people can change how they act in front of other people, their habits, their hairstyles, etc. I don't believe it because what truly changes a person is their outlook on life, their values, their morals, their ideals, their sympathies towards others, things like that. The latter takes a lot of time to change and I know it's doable.

A lot of times I feel frustrated or anxious for no apparent reason. Typically, I'd let myself feel that way for however long until something else comes up and I completely forget the feeling altogether. But, in retrospect, that's not really how I want to continue dealing with these seemingly random emotions. Where do they come from? Why do I feel suddenly flustered or annoyed? Why, WHY, do I want to feel that way if it causes me so much negative associations? A lot of times if I simply ask myself why am I feeling a certain way, the frustration goes away because I realize that whatever was causing my frustration really wasn't worth becoming emotional about in the first place. This small time of self-reflection goes a long way towards staying calm and focused.

Most of the time, my anxiety stems from worrying about not making a fool of myself and avoiding mistakes. I'm starting to see that everyone makes mistakes and can sound like a fool nearly every day. It's just a matter of being okay with that and moving on. So, it's really not a big deal if I give the wrong answer, just as long as I'm open-minded enough to learn about a new perspective and above all, not to get defensive or feel like I'm being told wrongly. There's really no need to feel anxiety at this point because the person is simply trying to help you see the situation from their point of view - wrong or right. That's the point of conversation and discussion.

Along the lines of making mistakes, there's always a student and a teacher. Everyone is always a student and everyone can always become a teacher. Even in the smallest of aspects, someone can become a teacher even if they're not fully aware they're doing it. It comes from the subtle things people do, maybe their demeanor, how they interact with other people, how they treat themselves, or what they think about. We all learn from others and sometimes the learning is so subtle that neither party knows they're actually acquiring a slightly different personality than a few months ago. The mistakes are what allows the teacher to come out and teach. We're always making mistakes, so it's only natural that there's room to learn.