People will always try to enforce thoughts and opinions on you, thinking they know all there is to know about you, and all that can be done in response to a life’s situation facing you.
Maybe it’s their dumb human propensity to proclaim themselves infallible, but it is your responsibility to stand your ground firmly, and not let others’ opinions shake your confidence. Those around you will try to change you, but it’s your (our) collective job to fight back if we truly truly believe in the actions we take.
This idea of influence branches out and reaches far, and to many areas. In the end, they all intertwine and lead back to the same point: don’t let the outside world change your opinion of who you are, how you act, what you do, what you believe in, the decisions you make, and so on.
It is your life to live. The choices you make might be faulty, but they are your choices that you made of your free will, and that is something every person has, and that is ultimately how you will learn; that is how you will become better as a person. You live and learn, as they say. So recognize that to be human is to make mistakes.
Countless times in my writing, painting, life, people would not give me advice, but would rather try to forcibly make me do what is in their minds as they are convinced that this is the best thing to do. Very often I forget that it is within my capability to refute and deny them what they want.
They will push. Just push back harder. Keep in mind that I am not advocating disobedience; we all need to listen to our elders, and we have to listen to the words and guidance of others. Consider them. If you feel like the option presented is a better one, then follow through and act on it. Think things through, always. Don’t let others cause you to be confused or in the dark, because that’ll be nothing more than a catalyst to have you make regrettable decisions. As Victor Hugo said, “The soul in darkness sins, but the real sinner is he who caused the darkness.”
By Saif Nasir
