How much do we truly decide about our actions?

Feelings of Inadequacy: We focus on perceived shortcomings rather than recognising our unique progress. Envy and Resentment: Upward comparisons can breed jealousy and turn potential connections or friendships into bitter rivalries.

Reactive life effects in real life The effects of a reactive life are highly relatable in everybody’s life. Families can operate through high expectations of wealth, reputation, and achievement instead of focusing on the underlying needs of security, belonging, and significance. Similarly, schools can prioritise marks over learning and understanding. There are endless examples in real life that are connected with proxies, where we run behind them without focusing on the actual purpose. The corporate version: People become numbers — productivity, utilisation, attrition, and cost. The short-term metrics created to encourage faster growth can push organisations into short-term decisions. Ultimately, this creates a cycle of pressure, burnout, low performance, and the cycle goes on. The cycle of external expectations: Unrealistic expectations create comparison, and the fear of failing to meet them gives birth to fearful reactions. If the person is successful, they receive a temporary reward along with even more expectations, which fuels the cycle to run again and again. Oftentimes, we are the ones who have internalised these fears so deeply that we become our own supervisors. Rooted in expectations imposed by others, this gradually leads to self-criticism. The problem is allowing these expectations to define your worth and direction without questioning them. It slowly gives control of your life to others’ expectations of the “ideal you.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The alternative: conscious living A simple pause before we react can solve half of the problem. It breaks the default reaction and helps us calm down. The rest depends on you: what you do to find the best solution and how you interpret the situation affects your choice and action. Not every decision needs our conscious attention, but we need to make conscious decisions in situations that contribute to a larger significance in our lives. What happens when society starts optimising the scoreboard instead of the game? Education becomes marks. Social media becomes engagement. Career becomes a title, and life becomes performance. A system becomes unhealthy when its measurements replace its purpose. So think and decide. Conscious living doesn’t mean abandoning society. It means becoming aware of its influence and actively participating in the system, ensuring that it doesn’t completely define you. We humans made systems to work for us, not to force us to do the work. Freedom comes the moment when you understand, accept, and live meaningfully. Thank you. ~ Yathem Meher Priyamani -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Experience the story of a person living a similar life of reactivity: A Blink of Her Eye