My mom and I were afraid of being defined by someone else, afraid of being overpowered, afraid of being vulnerable, afraid of being found GUILTY, afraid of feeling more than we wanted to feel, afraid of caring more than we wanted to care, afraid that our true needs and desires would never be respected, afraid that we would never be loved the way we want to be loved.
If you want to be wise and trust yourself and feel more joy, you have to face those fears, alone and in the company of others. If you want to stop running away from your warped misconceptions of what people expect of you, if you want to stop avoiding feedback because you believe that it’s harsh criticism that means you’re bad and worthless, if you want to stop fleeing from your own shame and stop sidestepping other people’s confusion and stop WRITING PEOPLE OFF... every single time they tell you what they need from you, either directly or indirectly, you have to reckon with how AFRAID AND AVOIDANT you are.