Be Someone You’re Proud Of

Be someone you’re proud of. Be the person that your 10-year-old self would look at with wide, bright eyes thinking, “I want to be like her.” Be the person that your 13-year-old self would look at with pride and say, “I can’t wait to be where she is.”

I’m not talking about the pride your younger self would feel about your job, or the number of followers you have on Instagram, or the amount of money you make, or where you are in your career. Kids don’t care about that. Kids care about badasses. They don’t look up to the rich guy in shows or movies, they look up to the one who can punch that rich guy in the face.

We measure our worth all the time, but we measure it by the stuff we have, by the numbers and the data. We measure our worth based on things that don’t give us a higher worth. We think that we should be proud of ourselves for getting more money and being able to buy more stuff.

I’m not saying that that’s something you shouldn’t be proud of because if you’re getting more money, you most likely deserve it. I’m just saying that it’s not the only thing you should be focusing on. It’s not the number one thing that gives you a greater worth.

One day, you’re going to die. Say you’re 110-years-old, and you’re dying of old age, and you get the chance to look back at your life and reflect. Now, I’ve never died before and then brought back to life, and I’ve never almost-died before, but I know what we’ll be thinking.

Not about the amount of money we made or the fact that we had 50,000 followers on Instagram. You’re going to be thinking about what a badass you were. You’re going to look back and say, “I’m proud of myself because I was brave, I was present, and I was kind.”

When I say to be someone you’re proud of, I mean act like the person that would inspire you to be better.

Be dedicated, be persistent, be strong, be brave, be present, be loving, be positive, be kind, be excited, be passionate, be open-minded, be someone you’re proud of.

That can look different to you. Being someone you’re proud of can mean spending more time with your family, or it can mean showing your kids what kindness looks like, or it can mean volunteering more often.

If you’re doing something that makes the world a greater place (even if it’s the smallest thing ever) and it makes you feel worthy, then you’re doing it right. You’re someone that you’re proud of.

Strive for greatness, strive for something that you can look at and say, “I’m doing that,” with pride. You only have one life. Be the best you can be while you’re still breathing.