You donāt know anyone at the party, so you donāt want to go. You donāt like cottage cheese, so you havenāt eaten it in years. This is your choice, of course, but donāt kid yourself: itās also the flinch. Your personality is not set in stone. You may think a morning coffee is the most enjoyable thing in the world, but itās really just a habit. Thirty days without it, and you would be fine. You think you have a soul mate, but in fact you could have had any number of spouses. You would have evolved differently, but been just as happy. You can change what you want about yourself at any time. You see yourself as someone who canāt write or play an instrument, who gives in to temptation or makes bad decisions, but thatās really not you. Itās not ingrained. Itās not your personality. Your personality is something else, something deeper than just preferences, and these details on the surface, you can change anytime you like. If it is useful to do so, you must abandon your identity and start again. Sometimes, itās the only way. Set fire to your old self. Itās not needed here. Itās too busy shopping, gossiping about others, and watching days go by and asking why you havenāt gotten as far as youād like. This old self will die and be forgotten by all but family, and replaced by someone who makes a difference. Your new self is not like that. Your new self is the Great Chicago Fireāoverwhelming, overpowering, and destroying everything that isnāt necessary.
Julien Smith, The Flinch (via crimson-adventures)
