I’ve made some really big and scary decisions this past month. In my professional and personal worlds, I’ve made changes that are painfully moving me into the next era of my life.
that’s made me think a lot about “being responsible.” It forced me to confront crossroads where safe, familiar, anticipated paths would continue, contrasted against challenging, unfamiliar, and dangerous ones.
Being responsible is not about letting your life unfold in the natural course of things. It’s about choosing the life you want. that job that keeps you comfortable, that person that is always there—you start to think: “things are okay! my life is consistent! It’s the responsible thing!”
The person who breaks walls, who challenges institutions, who does not yield power for complacency—is she the genius or the madman?
If you want a specific life, a specific legacy, it’s not always going to be easy—but do not bend. if you have a vision, you have a gut feeling, or you have boundaries—HONOR them, honor you. there will be so many people who think you are crazy, reckless, naive, and let them! but you cannot be a person preoccupied with what people think of your life if you intend on being a person out in the world, living it, saving it.
people will want your censorship, your compliance, your obedience. is it responsible to hand it over? some people think so.
all I got so far is this—this white dude wrote about a road less traveled once, and I felt that.