Every morning, we are thrown into the world of to-dos. We have work. We have school. We have families. We have obligations. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by it all. But I want you to remember one thing. One very, very important thing.

At the end of the day, it’s just you. Your joy is between you and yourself.

That means it’s completely up to you. What is “it”? Time. What you do with it. How you use it. Why you do it. If something isn’t bringing you joy, then stop doing that thing.

This may be a job. This may be an extracurricular. This may be a friend. Whatever “it” is, you have total permission to drop it.

But isn’t that being irresponsible? No, not necessarily. If you’re constantly switching gears and leaving people in the dust, then, yes, that is something to examine. What I’m talking about is something in your life that is bringing you down. It holds a gravity to your joy. You make excuses for it (i.e. you need the money, it really isn’t that bad, it’s nothing like such-and-such was, etc.).

Get rid of it. This is your life. At the end of the day, the only person you need to worry about being content is you because you’re going to have live with yourself for the rest of your life. You have to live your life with authenticity. If you’re staying in a dead-end place (job, relationship, otherwise), you’re not being authentic with yourself. If you’re staying at a 9 to 5 when you’d rather be a novelist, you’re not being authentic with yourself. You deserve more than lies so don’t lie to yourself. 

Don’t lie to yourself and don’t lie to the people around you. If something doesn’t make you kiss the ground and thank God for another day in the morning, then it has to go. It doesn’t matter how much time you’ve already spent on it. This is what truly matters: how much more time are you going to give something that doesn’t bring you joy?