I'm Jason Levin. I'm not a therapist, I'm someone who helps others through therapy. I am not going to be a dad, but I am going to have a child this year. I am not a husband, but I am a person who is married. I am not Josh's friend, I am not a graduate, I am not a son. I am Jason Levin.
Where is this all coming from? Well, I've seen a lot of people recently who are defining themselves by what their job title is, what friends that they have, who they're hooking up with, what habits or disabilities that they may have, and what GQ or "Fashion Police" say about their outfits. It's very sad to see people who have so much talent, so much yet-to-be-discovered ability, so much beauty that they don't see simply because others don't see it. These people strive to be everything to everyone at the cost of being nothing to themselves, and it has to stop.
Where is this all coming from? Well, I've seen a lot of people recently who are defining themselves by what their job title is, what friends that they have, who they're hooking up with, what habits or disabilities that they may have, and what GQ or "Fashion Police" say about their outfits. It's very sad to see people who have so much talent, so much yet-to-be-discovered ability, so much beauty that they don't see simply because others don't see it. These people strive to be everything to everyone at the cost of being nothing to themselves, and it has to stop.
Okay, imagine that you're at a party or meet-and-greet or even just waiting in line for the guy ahead of you to finish counting his thousands of tickets at Dave & Buster's because he "doesn't trust the machine." You start talking to someone, and after giving your name, what's the first question that you ask that person? It's not, "What inspires you?" or "What's your favorite thing to do?" No, the immediate question -- almost reflexively -- is, "What do you do?" Of course that's asking what a person's job is. The response is, and I'm guilty of this too, "I am a therapist/teacher/engineer/firefighter/cashier/whatever." But are you really? Is that what you want to be known as when you pass on? "Jason Levin: A Guy Who Can Be Summed Up By A Job He Chose" isn't what I want my legacy to be. I want to be known as a culmination of myself and my experiences, not just how others see me and a job title defines me.
Just like I said back in middle school math, numbers are a big problem. Not just with algebra, but I see a lot lately is people using their bank accounts/number of followers/likes on Facebook as some sort of scoreboard. It's as if the value of your assets is the value of you as a person, the number of people following you is a measure of the ideas that you have that deserve to be followed, the number of likes is the number of things to like about you. It's not any of those things. Humans are hardwired to measure/judge/recognize patterns, so I see where these ideas are coming from. At the same time, we're also hardwired to have a tailbone and appendix that serve no purpose other than to be potential medical bills. The same goes with the hundreds and thousands of dollars that you're spending on clothes, which are ultimately just really expensive props to ask in ten years when you're looking at a picture of yourself, "What the hell was I wearing?!" It will go out of style. Something else will come into style. Down the line your kids will make fun of you for wearing it. It's inevitable and not worth obsessing or criticizing over.
It always breaks my heart when people who come in here and define either themselves or someone else by what is perceived to be a negative aspect of themselves or habit they don't exactly want to put on a resumé. "I'm a dumb kid, I'm ugly, I'm an addict." No, you had a bad marking period and will work harder next time. You're not ugly, you're beautiful in ways that you haven't yet found or appreciated (not to mention that you're not defined by your looks). You're not an addict, you have a destructive habit that you have yet to break. If you define yourself by your self-perceived failures, then you will be a failure. If you define yourself by your self-perceived successes, then you can succeed. It's not that complicated.
If you want to be happy, then you have to be you. Don't be who you think others want you to be, don't minimize your existence to simply whether or not you have the latest iPhone, don't be a slave to your job. Be you. Turn yourself into something that other people will use as a reference point later on. Not the next LeBron, not the next Bill Gates, not the next Einstein; you are the first you. Define yourself that way and every day will be brighter than the last because you will be the light continuing to shine more radiantly with each beautiful aspect that you discover about yourself. Be you, love you, and then your life can begin.
Just like I said back in middle school math, numbers are a big problem. Not just with algebra, but I see a lot lately is people using their bank accounts/number of followers/likes on Facebook as some sort of scoreboard. It's as if the value of your assets is the value of you as a person, the number of people following you is a measure of the ideas that you have that deserve to be followed, the number of likes is the number of things to like about you. It's not any of those things. Humans are hardwired to measure/judge/recognize patterns, so I see where these ideas are coming from. At the same time, we're also hardwired to have a tailbone and appendix that serve no purpose other than to be potential medical bills. The same goes with the hundreds and thousands of dollars that you're spending on clothes, which are ultimately just really expensive props to ask in ten years when you're looking at a picture of yourself, "What the hell was I wearing?!" It will go out of style. Something else will come into style. Down the line your kids will make fun of you for wearing it. It's inevitable and not worth obsessing or criticizing over.
It always breaks my heart when people who come in here and define either themselves or someone else by what is perceived to be a negative aspect of themselves or habit they don't exactly want to put on a resumé. "I'm a dumb kid, I'm ugly, I'm an addict." No, you had a bad marking period and will work harder next time. You're not ugly, you're beautiful in ways that you haven't yet found or appreciated (not to mention that you're not defined by your looks). You're not an addict, you have a destructive habit that you have yet to break. If you define yourself by your self-perceived failures, then you will be a failure. If you define yourself by your self-perceived successes, then you can succeed. It's not that complicated.
If you want to be happy, then you have to be you. Don't be who you think others want you to be, don't minimize your existence to simply whether or not you have the latest iPhone, don't be a slave to your job. Be you. Turn yourself into something that other people will use as a reference point later on. Not the next LeBron, not the next Bill Gates, not the next Einstein; you are the first you. Define yourself that way and every day will be brighter than the last because you will be the light continuing to shine more radiantly with each beautiful aspect that you discover about yourself. Be you, love you, and then your life can begin.