the whole world belongs to you

"Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." Lao Tzu

I'm a notorious goal setter. Constantly working on this, or trying that, I am slightly obsessed with moving toward something. I was recently telling someone about how I'm trying to learn to like kale (trying really hard!) because it's so good for you and I really want to like it. After me rambling about how I'm working on it (green smoothies, chips, dehydrated...), he said: Whitney, you don't have to like kale. Spinach is really good too.

And this exchange reminded me of a time in high school when my boyfriend said, similarly, that it was OK to just be still in who I am - that I didn't need to be constantly self-bettering. And then I began wondering: when did this all start? Have I been in a continuous state of self-improvement my entire life?

And my next thought was: I am going to work on not working on things.

Wellp. That didn't last very long.

Fortunately I am not alone in this mentality because most people girls I know are pretty obsessed with improving things - at work, in relationships, their own selves. It's in our nature to fix, improve and obsess.

But even if it is the norm, I decided I'm not necessarily going be so blatant as to work on toning it down, but I am going to try to be more aware of how exhausting it can be - and that sometimes, it's OK to just be content in your imperfections and flaws. They make us who we are and the very best thing we can be is just who we are.

Even if it's someone who doesn't like kale.  Or sweet potatoes. Or garlic. OK. Or cilantro.

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