We often confuse what the world asks of us and what we ask of ourselves. Especially when the going gets tough. the line between the two blurs significantly. This is what pressure can feel like, like the world is asking too much from us and not being able to deliver is simply not an option. So we find ourselves always wanting to do more and more to meet expectations that seem to have been set for us.
But doing more and more to satisfy the world’s demands is nothing more than a surefire way to fail, and the reason is simple: there are no limits. The world will always want more and more from us. Instead, it’s helpful to see these demands not as the world’s but as our own.
Today, I found myself having to borrow a pair of slippers and an umbrella from two different strangers while stranded deep in the narrow streets of Brgy. Pinagbuhatan in Pasig. There are two ways to view this. One, this the world demanding from me so I did more and more to live up to the expectation. Two, this was me doing what it took to get where I wanted to go.
We know our limits. We set the demand based on our limits. We do what it takes to satisfy this demand. It’s not in mindlessly doing more that we succeed but in doing what it takes based on standards we set for ourselves.