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We sometimes tend to feel a sense of jealousy toward some people who we believe are running ahead of us and who we think are reaching new milestones in life. We often compare ourselves to people, measure the gap between distances, and differentiate successes without realizing that we have a timeline of our own. Questioning ourselves from where we are standing as of now becomes a habit wondering if we can make a progress or if we can attain and experience other people's accomplishments.
"Every person has their own timeline of success. Others succeed sooner others later. As in everything, both timelines have both advantages and disadvantages." - Maria Karvouni
Things you don't need to be worried about
"Why you still don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend? It is sad to be single." — Aunt Marisol
You might be at an age wherein you can see your colleagues having a healthy romantic relationship already but you on the other hand stays single which leads you to feel pressured and ask yourself questions. "When is the right time for me to have that?", " Is there someone who likes me?", "Will I be able to experience that in the future?".
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Remember that their timeline is different from yours and your timeline is different from theirs. It goes both ways. Not because they already found someone means you need also to find yours. It is a matter of time. You don't need to rush things especially if you know that you are not yet ready for commitment.
In addition, being single is just okay you don't have to worry about it. Some people are still single in their thirties but that is alright with them because they believe that if the person that will love them will come, it will come.
"You are already twenty-seven (27) but you are not yet graduating? Some people who are younger than your age already graduated. What happened to you? " —Aunt Marites
Not because someone finished the race first doesn't mean that you can't do the same. There are just reasons why some people's journeys stopped and why some continued because we don't have the same privileges.
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Some people graduated at a very young age but they are having a hard time securing a job while other people graduated late but successfully were hired. It is not always about who finishes first, it is about the journey, your willingness, the lessons you acquire, and your perseverance to finish the game despite the things you encountered along the way.
Not because you are late, not because you are behind others, meaning you can't win the race. Everything is possible to a person who believes the goal is achievable.
"Your batchmates are now successful businessmen, how about you? What do you become? Still at the point where you are right now?— Aunt Maricar
Being successful takes a lot of failures. The successful people that you admire became successful because they overcome their failures and learned from them. In able for them to live a life they dreamed of for a long time, they are also like you who struggled to fight.
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You may not consider yourself a successful person right now or perhaps you are still in the process of building yourself and learning new things to make you the successful person you imagined yourself to be but always remember that whatever you are doing is part of your progress. The progress that you will soon call a success.
Consider your life a very long road. You are inside the car holding the steering wheel while driving, expect that some drivers will drive their cars faster than you drive yours. Traffic lights will serve as your reminders of when to stop, when to continue, and when to slow down.
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Red for stopping for a moment if you feel like you are exhausted or if you feel like you need to rest. Stopping doesn't mean that you will stop trying, you just need to think, breathe, then fight again.
Green indicates continue and it is safe to go a little faster. It reminds you that you are on the right track and you don't have to worry about anything.
Yellow is a signal for you to slow down. It reminds you not to rush everything in your life. Rushing will sometimes result in failure and disappointment. Sit back, think carefully, go with the flow, enjoy the ride, and always remember to relax.
Lastly, accidents may happen all the time that may prevent you from reaching your destination for a while. You need to be patient and the time to go again will come.