Own Yourself
"The truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them."
Steven Pressfield
The things you do when no one is there to tell you what to do will determine the type of person you become.
Before, going into what owning yourself means, let’s first address who we are currently owned by. By default we are slaves to our emotions, we are thrashed about like a ship caught in a torrent, violently tossed from one extreme to the other. We are victims of circumstance and our happiness is contingent on outside forces. We do things only when we feel like it, and if we feel sad or unmotivated then we don’t do things. The things we desire in life we don’t truly want, we are only convinced we want them because that is what everyone else wants. We stand for nothing, we don’t believe in anything, and we are not an individual, but rather a nameless mass in the crowd.
What does it mean to own yourself?
It means that you are the one in control of your life. Not your peers, not your mood, and not your situation or any external factor. You are the boss of your life, you are the one steering the ship. Outside forces do not impact your focus. It requires discipline, commitment, and courage.
So why care about owning yourself?
When you own yourself you are free from whatever life throws at you. You are immune to the effects of hardships, setbacks, and external forces. It is liberation. Owning yourself is the most important task and a lifelong endeavor. The more you own yourself the more you realize the turmoil and insanity in which most people live their lives.