You stay up late revising a finished proposal, obsessing over every punctuation mark—not because it’s necessary, but because you’re afraid of hearing “it’s not good enough.”
You constantly check your phone, carefully weigh every word you say, even rehearse conversations in advance. You shape yourself into what you think others will like, and slowly lose sight of who you truly are.
You polish every social media post, anxious about the number of likes. You show up at gatherings you don’t want to attend, agree with opinions you don’t believe—all just to maintain a surface-level sense of connection.

Behind this over-exertion often lies a deeper fear: the dread of not being accepted. Many were raised believing that “only by being outstanding can you be worthy of love.” There’s also a lack of inner security—a feeling that you must keep running just to stay where you are. And then there’s social comparison, trapping people in endless competition.

But you really don’t have to try so hard.

Life has its own natural rhythm, just like the changing seasons or the blooming and fading of flowers. Trying too hard only throws you off balance and makes you miss the beauty of the present. So many things can’t be controlled by effort alone—what’s meant to come will come; what’s meant to leave will leave. True wisdom lies in knowing what can be changed and what should be accepted.

When you stop struggling against life, you can finally hear your own heart clearly. Be yourself in this moment. Focus on what feels real. Life will give back to you when the time is right. Letting go isn’t giving up—it’s a deeper form of control: the kind that happens within.