The rightness in being wrong

“It’s worth remembering that for any change to happen in your life, you must be wrong about something. If you’re sitting there, miserable day after day, then that means you’re already wrong about something major in your life.” - Mark Manson

These days I’m thinking about thinking about trying to let go of (or at least loosen the grip on) my own beliefs—about myself and about others. It’s difficult and threatening, especially when I’ve defined myself as hyper intellectual, analytical, self-aware. But this author reminds me that the ultimate and most life-proof wisdom is the quiet knowledge that you never really know, that your "knowledge" is based on imperfect, often distorted and fear-based mental constructions and projections, and that growth lies in questioning rather than answering.

So when I feel that mid-twenties anxiety (I have a feeling it never goes away) about who I am, what I’m worth, what I'm doing vs. what I "should" be doing, I'm trying to gently remind myself that the intensity of those emotions is fueled much by the illusion that answers to these questions are actually attainable and stable. When the truth is (so I think . . .), knowing one thing now, is just the precursor to questioning it very soon.

If you're in between life chapters like me (between career moves, relationships, locations, personal ideologies/ value systems) try considering it as less a period of being "lost" than a destination of honest questioning, a coming down from the high that is thinking you have it figured out, and a landing in the reality of your vulnerability, your humility--the place where real joy and growth await. I'll let you know how it goes! (Withdrawals to be expected).