To reach new horizons, you have to leave the shore

To reach new horizons, you have to leave the shore.

I firmly believe our families empower us with an enormous suitcase full of good ways to act, think, and face life, friendships, and love. But whether we like it or not, that suitcase also contains more than a few things that may not be so positive, and that distance us from the happy life we’re looking for.

It’s inevitable that, after spending so much time with our families, both the good and the bad rub off on us.

But I believe that, at a certain point in our lives, it’s each of our responsibilities to recognize which traits are truly “mine” and which ones I want to be “mine” from now on, and which ones I want my children to learn from me, because they’re mine and I believe they’ll help them face the world, rather than making it harder for them to grow in today’s world.

You have to notice which behaviors don’t make you happy, or don’t make your partner or friends happy, and ask yourself: “Hey, do I do this because I truly believe it’s the right way, or because my parents taught me to do it this way? What would happen if I tried it differently?”

That’s what maturity is. And it’s a shame that so many people never grow up.