From a certain perspective, one could easily say I’ve spent a lot of my life not coming up to people’s expectations. My music publishers for not producing ‘that’ hit, my script agent for not replicating the success of ‘Marcello’, ex girlfriends and friends, etc. To many, I’ve been a disappointment. However I’m comfortable with that.
Love us or hate us, people will usually begin by having an idea of who we are and over time, that will certainly change. Sometimes for the better, more often for the worst. And over the years, the people we end up enjoying life with are those that like us despite (in their eyes) our flaws.
So many times in life I’ve met people I like and who have similar feeling towards me. Then, over time, we start to see the ‘joins’ in each other’s personalities. Whether we move beyond those imperfections is down to us both. Don’t get me wrong, I am sad when I see in someone’s eyes that moment of disappointment: the moment they realise you’re not the person for them. But today I quickly accept that.
Allowing someone to be themselves and not a version of our perceptions, for me, is a sign of maturity. Even though someone may never be my best friend, regardless of their thoughts of me, I always try to see their inner diamond and focus on that.
We’re not on this planet to fulfil another’s expectations of who we are. In truth, it’s impossible. We’re here to be the best version of ourselves we can be. Not for others, but for ourselves. And to do that, we have to live with our past indiscretions and accept our own shortcomings. In short, accept ourselves.