I have a selection of Post-it notes stuck on the wall infront of my desk; a homemade mosaic of inspiring thoughts and affirmations that help to ward off writers' block and crises of confidence. One of my favourites is:
"Be yourself because everyone else is taken. No one else can do things you do."
So many of us waste time comparing ourselves with others, following the crowd and trying to to be someone else. The Indian writer and philosopher, J Krishnamurti (1895-1996) talks of how we become second-hand beings when we start to get into who we think we should be.
“Each of us has an image of what we think we are, which prevents us from seeing ourselves as we actually are.”
Now that the GFC has spun the world into turmoil and lessened the grip of materialism on our lives, perhaps it'll be less about following fashions and comparing ourselves to others and more about reclaiming our individuality.
Never mind what the world may say...
I too have a couple of messages on the office notice board. the first is "The greatest enemy of best is good. If youre willing to accept good, you'll never get best"
ReplyDeleteThis sometimes inspires me to follow my own operational rules which, when followed properly, actually work.
The second says, "Assumption is the mother of all fuckups"
This, like a lot of things in life, keeps coming back to bite me.
Good point, Olly. Never assume anything and get everything in writing!!
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