Exhaustion by Contradiction

Title: Exhaustion by Contradiction

Stay in your lane.

You've got to push past the boundaries.

Be aggressive.

Tone it down.

Be yourself.

I'm going to need you to change that.

How many times in a day do we hear, read or are told contradictory statements? Am I supposed to grind it out or do I complain that I'm overloaded with work? Do I tell the guy I'm dating that its not you, its me..when it really is fucking you?

Contradiction is hard in your college years, but are even harder when you hit your mid to late twenties. Societal pressures tell us that we need to have our shit together, when in reality, we have no idea what we are doing. I remember when I was 28 and finally realized that I was just exhausted from contradiction. Up was down, down was up. I was so confused and finally just said "fuck it." I couldn't deal with the stress of researching what I should be feeling or how I should be feeling or how I should be reacting to situations. What was normal? I had no idea.

Today, I hear stay in your lane all the time. And then 20 minutes later, I'm going to need your help with this project that isn't in your job description. What I realized is that everyone is right, to an extent. Yes, there are days when I need to stay in my lane. There are other days when I need to go above and beyond. There are days when I've learned to shut my mouth, while the next hour I've got to stand up for myself and speak up. We read these articles and hear experts talk about what is going to make us successful and want advice so we create this amazing life. But, what no one ever tells you is that you need to do both. And only when you master the art of knowing when to do one and when to do the other, will you find success.

My challenge to you today is to pick one contradictory statement. Read each side carefully and try to find a situation in the next few days on when you can use each. And then release that stress because no one knows what the hell they are doing.