We often hear the phrase, “Listen to yourself.” It is such an overused expression that I never stopped to wonder what it actually means.
I began to think about which version of myself I should listen to. The one who is afraid? The one who has doubts? The one carrying remnants of the parents and the society that raised him? The one who is not yet ready?
And what does it mean to be ready to listen to yourself? When does that happen? How many years must pass before, through study, introspection, and experience, I am truly ready to let myself guide me?
I did not arrive at any specific conclusion. I simply tried to look back at myself and at the choices I have made in general. I remember being around 18 and having to decide what I should do with my life. At that moment, I wanted to become a journalist, specifically, a war correspondent. In fact, I had even found a particular school where I could begin my studies. As soon as I announced it to my parents and teachers, the comments immediately began. In general, they told me to choose something that would secure my future. So I chose to study Physics, and I completed the degree. Then I chose Computer Science, and I completed that degree as well. And after all these years, Substack gave me the opportunity I had been looking for about 20 years ago.
It is incredible how life guides you.
I did not listen to myself back then. Perhaps I would be a very different person today, but that does not matter. Things could not have happened any other way. What I have concluded is that you can never truly tell when you are ready to listen to yourself. What you cultivate over time is the ability to understand yourself, dismantle whatever stereotypes you may hold, and try to accept that, whatever happens, you will keep moving forward.
I may have taken a long time to become involved in some form of journalism. Now, it is mostly writing articles. It is very far from what I had imagined when I was 18. Perhaps that is for the best. I cannot know. What I do know is that what I am doing here now fulfils me more than anything else.
And just like gardens, we do not blossom overnight. It takes patience, persistence, mistakes, and corrections. Only then will we appreciate ourselves, when we appreciate the effort we have made. And I am certain that all of us are trying. At some point, quite simply, we change, and we realise it some time later, when we begin to feel much calmer and more confident, and when the truth matters more to us than convenience.
That is the voice I trust, not because I am necessarily right, but because I recognise and appreciate how it was created.
Continue the Journey
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