this 4 minute clip will make you pause and reflect on your life

When people tell you who they are; believe them. When people tell you who you are, don't believe them...don't let people who misunderstand you define you...you are the only custodian of your own integrity

Maria Popova, 7 Things I Learned in 7 Years of Reading, Writing & Living

​YouTube Credit: Dissolve

I've been following the extremely talented Maria Popova now for a few years, and when I came across this gorgeous clip summarising her first seven years at Brain Pickings it resonated so much with me that I just had to share it (it is a few years old now but still well worth a look).

There's so much goodness and honesty to her reflections on seven years at the writing helm, and we can learn so much not only as writers but as HUMAN BEINGS in the short 3 minutes and 50 seconds of this clip. With an overarching message to keeping the 'centre solid', I urge you to make that cup of tea and sit for a few minutes and absorb this short clip with an open mind (and if you're anything like me you might even watch it again and again to ensure that each message has permeated through your sub-conscious and into your brain!).

Sometimes it's just too easy to continue swimming downstream with everyone else, conforming to society's standards and expectations of who you should be and what you should say. And pushing aside that voice in your head that is screaming out for attention, that voice that tells you that you ARE worth it and you should believe in yourself and back your own gifts to make your dream a reality. Most times it's simply the fear sitting next to you that talks you out of it, but sometimes it's also the best friend, or parent, or career advisor, or partner who doesn't yet understand the true value in what you have to OFFER.

Maria understands this and so beautifully captures this tug-of-war between head and heart in her '7 Things' clip. My favourite is point 4, where she encourages us to "..build pockets of stillness into your life..", and to expect that anything valued as worthwhile to take a long time (her analogy of the flower blossom here is perfect!). To be as disciplined about sleep as we are about work