Because when you look at a young child, something remarkable stands out. They laugh without worrying whether they sound silly. They dance without wondering who's watching. They ask questions without fearing they'll look stupid. They create without asking whether it's good enough.
And of course They fail...and do you know what - five minutes later they're trying again.
They don't wake up wondering if people like them. They don't compare themselves with everyone else. For a few magic years - They simply are.
Then, little by little...the marble starts to build. Someone says, "Don't be so loud." Another says, "Be realistic." "You'll never make a living doing that." "Boys don't cry." "Good girls don't answer back." "You should be more like your brother." "Stop showing off.""What will people think?" What a load of rubbish.
None of these comments seem particularly significant on their own. But over years... they become part of the story we tell ourselves until Eventually...we stop hearing other people's voices. And We mistake them for our own.
We begin to believe we're shy. Or not creative. Or not clever enough. Or not attractive enough. Or not successful enough.
We spend decades trying to become somebody... without ever questioning who decided we weren't enough in the first place.
And here's the strange thing. We call it growing up. But what if some of it...is actually growing away from ourselves?
Maybe that's why certain moments catch us by surprise. You hear an old song. You find a photograph from when you were eight. You remember climbing trees...drawing pictures...making up stories...and laughing until your stomach hurt.
For a moment...you feel something.Most people call it nostalgia, but I'm not sure it is.
Perhaps you're not remembering your childhood. Perhaps you're remembering yourself. The version of you...before fear. Before comparison. Before approval became so important. Before you started measuring your worth against everyone else.
So, stop right now and ask yourself a few questions. What if confidence isn't something you build? What if peace isn't something you find? What if happiness isn't something you achieve? What if they've been there all along... hidden beneath years of expectations...fear...labels...and other people's opinions?
Perhaps that's why trying to fix yourself feels so exhausting. Because you're trying to repair someone...who was never actually broken.
Maybe the child you miss...never disappeared. Maybe they're simply waiting...beneath everything that was never meant to be there.
So this week...don't ask yourself, "Who do I need to become?" Ask instead, "What can I let go of?" One fear. One label. One expectation. One belief that was handed to you by somebody else.
Because every piece you remove...brings you a little closer... to the person you have always been.
