You make me wanna…

Throughout the journey of our lives, we learn. We learn how to be (for others), we learn how not to be (for ourselves and others) and then we unlearn the whole thing and find ourselves for good. Most times we don't go back to previous stages once the unlearning process has proven its benefits. Few in the beginning, but more and more on the way. 

No matter how hard it is, we manage to get there every single time. If we want to and if we listen. Even listening can be shallow or in depth, but that's another topic that can be enlarged. 

Who are YOU? 

In the last 2 years, I fell in love with people and with human nature more than before. But that process started with me. It might sound odd, but you will never see the beauty of the world from a shadowy corner of your heart. You need to let light come in, through those cracks you carry with you. 

On January 1st 2018, I made the best decision of my life. 

I was sitting in my tiny kitchen, after I have spent New Year's night working, in order to forget the sorrow I in my heart. I woke up at 8 am, after having slept no more than 3 hours. But for some sort of unknown reason I felt energized despite my physical tiredness. After pouring coffee in my mug, I took a seat, facing the window. I picked up my phone and started writing something. Then I stopped and I looked outside the window. For the first time that morning I saw the sun. It was gently knocking in, wishing to come in through the small crack of the window. In that moment I realized that if I don't embrace it, it might never come back in the same fashion. So, as quickly as an instant, I decided to let the sun in; to let the sun flood my soul. But there is another decision I made, which I mentioned before. And that was to embrace my life. So I said to myself:

"I accept whatever comes to me. Be it a blessing or a lesson, starting today I am open to receiving."

THAT was the best decision I ever made in my life until that point. And that decision literally shifted my entire thinking. That was the moment when the deep dive within myself began. And, along with it, my view on the world (as a whole) and on every person (as the unique spark of life) enlarged its angle. 

The unfolding year still had its ups and downs. With moments of rock-bottom feelings of despair, new decisions to be made and with high peaks. It was a year that reshaped my existence in many ways. However, the most important (yet the hardest to admit) stepping stone was self-confidence; self-worth, self-acknowledgement. The moment I started believing in my powerful mind things started to change for me and my girls. And then I realized that some people have identified that change in me and asked how I got there. They wanted to allow that shift to happen within themselves but were afraid and they saw me as a role model (although I still didn't see myself as such, at all). Step by step, people who were willing to support my journey joined me. They came out of nowhere, from thousands of miles away, holding my hand throughout this process. 

And that's how I finally came to understand, almost 2 years later, what I was meant for on this planet. 

What can YOU do? 

I truly believe (or at least hope) that at some point in our lives we all ask ourselves about the meaning of our existence. Especially in our darkest moments; especially when we feel like giving up on this journey, as no ray of sun seems to be willing to knock on our window. 

This is the exact reason why I'm saying that everything starts with self. Once we decide to get out of that shadowy corner people will show up. It doesn't matter for how long; all it matters is if we are open to receive the lesson they showed up for or not. If we do, we then create ripple effects we could have never been aware of. Because we didn't believe in ourselves and in the beauty of humanity. 

Therefore, the best thing you can do is to be open. To trust yourself and, if you don't, trust the others. Not everyone wants to harm you! You might discover and be blown away by the number of people who actually want the best for you. You just need to give them a chance to help you create those subsequent ripple effects. 

Always ask yourself:

"What do I need to learn from this? What is this person/ situation/ feeling trying to teach me about myself and the world?" 

This is what you can do. And do it often! 

It's no easy process, as we are not being taught how to grasp information, rather than being taught what information to collect. 

You make me wanna…

As I mentioned before, during the perspective-shifting process we are merely aware of the impact we have on others; let alone its magnitude. 

In this regard, I would like to share a story with you. 

A few days ago, I got acquainted with a person, via social media. A co-national of mine. A TV & radio professional, who is currently running his own chain of ventures. Thus, in my eyes, a very smart man, with tons of experience behind him - a real source of inspiration and an individual I have a lot to learn from. For no reason, it was him offering me a gift I never would have expected: a story he wrote and recorded, with the final aim to offer it to the world, for free. The story impressed me to pieces and I gave the feedback I felt like giving. From there, an incredible connection happened. Only because two people who never spoke before decided to be kind to each other and be open to receiving. He received my writing, I received his gift. A meeting happened afterwards and this man says, in the most sincere voice:

"The story was taking the space of my shelf for almost a year now. But when I received your feedback I felt the necessary energy and drive to do more about it. You make me want to do more. Thank you!"

- with Aurelian Ivan, Oct. 10th, 2019

You can imagine my surprise, right? Him, a well-established man, to tell me those words! What can be more beautiful than hearing such words? More beautiful than acknowledging the impact you have on one person at a time! Regardless of how small or big you see the impact to be; or if you don't see it at all. It happens. All you have to do is believe, be open to receiving and truthfully communicate with the other. That's all. It's easier than it sounds. 

Ripple effect 

A few paragraphs above I said that by being open and working with self is the best way to make an impact on the world around you. From the story I exposed I do hope you will take the essence. Which is: by accepting the gift and returning a sincere feedback (I believe by now my audience knows that I can't sugar-coat anything) I empowered a person to want to do more - without even being aware of it. What this will bring is a priceless gift made to the entire world by this man. The story will soon reach every child who needs to feel courageous; to feel worthy and strong. 

This is how ripple effects happen. And we can all be a small part of it, by working with self. By learning about our strengths, by trusting the process although we want to give up and by seeing the beauty of life. That beauty is there, just like the ray of sun I allowed to come into my soul on January 1st 2018. It was always there, waiting for me to open up. 

So dive in, then open up and be a change-maker. You will never be too insignificant! We all matter and we all can! Make them wanna… 

Love, 

A. 

#FlavoredWriting

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*****

About the author:

Andrada Anitei is the owner of Flavored Ventures SRL, a company that offers content writing and editing (both in English and Romanian), as well as web design & mobile apps development services.

The author of this article is a passionate writer & editor, using self-development as cornerstone for everything she does. She started her writing adventure as a manner of coping with life and healing older wounds and she fell in love with this craft.

She has been blessed with an extraordinary passion, curiosity, eagerness to understand, fast learning abilities and interest in various areas, active listening skills and lots of love for people. She believes in the beauty of souls, despite nowadays trends. In fact, she embraces the "weirdo" within, while giving her inner child full permission to play.

Being a stubborn believer in beauty and magic, she has looked for and learned plenty of life stories in 2018 and 2019, interviewing people from all over the world (written interviews are on LinkedIn and the recorded ones can be listened to on her podcast - Impact By Choice, which can be found to here).

Both of her books can be found on Amazon:

• "The Man, the Moon and the Casquette" (2018)
• "7 Padlocks - A Story of Self-Discovery in the 19th Century" (2019)