self trust

Some people find themselves by already knowing who they are, then moving towards that. Other people find themselves by knowing who they’re not, then moving away from that. Many of us work our whole lives at a combination of the two.

We put such pressure on ourselves to know exactly who we are and what we want in every moment; it’s okay for some things to be fuzzy. People who identify with having “so many issues” are often just people who don’t have immediate or perfect closure on the ever-evolving experience of being human.

Trust is a matter of reciprocal relationships, not of prediction, risk, and reliance.

By the time the map is available it is useless, life has changed its tracks. Life has started playing a new game. You cannot cope with life with maps because it is not measurable, and you cannot cope with life by consulting guidebooks because guidebooks are possible only if things are stagnant. Life is not stagnant—it is a dynamism, it is a process

He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.

– Jean-Luc Godard

We all have very good reasons not to trust ourselves. We’ve all betrayed ourselves badly, repeatedly, shamefully, and knowingly. Show me someone who hasn’t abandoned themselves, and I will show you a child. As we grow into adults, our world opens and we make mistakes. Ignoring your own needs and deserting yourself is a universal mistake.

Once people do not trust themselves, they are subject to easy manipulation.