Miss Independent

As I watch my little girl grow more and more each day, I see her independence strengthen by the minute and I realise quickly that the young girl I see in front of me is just a pint sized version of myself. From a young age I've always been fairly independent. My parents raised me to be a strong and independent young woman.

Unfortunately sometimes I think perhaps I'm too independent, it's not always a positive trait. I struggle to ask others for help, for I am too proud and have to do everything myself. Yesterday as someone offered to give me a hand carrying my bags I politely declined and then I heard a little parrot pipe in "we're all good, thanks" at 2, she is already turning down assistance and insisting on doing everything on her own. I suppose I should at least be grateful that she used her manners!

I often find it hard to let others in, sure I have amazing friends but I often keep them at an arms length and don't share a lot of my feelings with them. I'd rather people see me as strong and independent with no weaknesses. I often believe that the reason I am single is because I'm too independent, I like my life the way it is, I like doing what I want and went I want. Perhaps that's just known as selfishness as opposed to being independent, maybe.

I'm self sufficient and have been for a long time, I earn my own money, I can change a tyre on my car, I can fix my bike, in most aspects of life I'm pretty good at fending for myself. I've always thought it's a great thing to be self sufficient and independent but as I watch my little girl grow I realise that it's not all it's cracked up to be. It's my job to teach her that independence is good, but it's also good to let others in to help you. Don't put up you wall so high that no one  can ever climb over, don't keep your friends at arms length, let them in for the good and the bad. Be self sufficient but don't be too proud to be resourceful and seek help from those around you.

Choices

We make choices every single day of our lives, sometimes these are just small choices like; what to eat for breakfast, what clothes to wear to work, to exercise or not to exercise, to make or buy lunch. Whatever it may be it all comes down to choice, and the choice is always your choice! So often lately I hear people complaining that they don't have time to exercise, there isn't enough hours in the day. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, no more, no less and everyone has the choice as to how they use those hours. Usually it comes down to your priorities and what you choose to prioritize over something else. Never say you didn't do something because you didn't have the time, you chose not to do something because you chose to do something else.
We also have choices in life as to how we react to certain situations, the behaviours we display. We can choose to be negative, to gossip, to blame others. Or we can choose to be positive, take responsibility for our own actions and compliment others. It's so often too easy for people to lay blame on someone else when life doesn't go the way you wanted it to or planned for it. Afterall it's easier to blame someone else than to take ownership of your own actions. It's easier to play the victim and receive sympathy from others than to look at yourself in the mirror and say "shit, I screwed up my life"
It takes a strong person to admit their mistakes, to realise that it's their choices that led them to where they are in life right now. Unfortunately there are far too many weak people out there, these people will always complain there are not enough hours in the day, that nothing is ever their fault when life goes wrong. They will also always be miserable in life because they don't own their life, they don't own the choices that they make.
So next time you make a choice, remember it is always YOUR CHOICE.
Choose to do what makes you happy, choose to live your life the way that you want to live it, choose to prioritize what's important to you and make it happen.