The Power of Meaningful Conversations

I love meaningful conversations. The conversations that make you think, help you learn, and somewhat inspire you. I recently met up with a friend (I say friend but he’s more like family), we had a catch up that was long overdue and we spoke about a lot. There is one part of the conversation that stuck with me. On the drive back home we spoke about how, despite some of the challenges we’ve faced in life, we wouldn’t change our lives for anything. Let me explain…

I would say I’m quite open when it comes to my upbringing, mainly because I’m proud of how far I’ve (we’ve) come. It’s become evident to me, through discussions with others, that a lot of people have this preconception of how I grew up because of what they see now. I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth but I didn’t grow up ‘suffering’ either. I always had what I needed and at times what I wanted, but it just took a bit (a lot) longer than others to get it. It’s funny because my Ma still has the letters I wrote to her asking when we would be able to go to places like Legoland. I never really got an answer because she didn’t know. Our situation at the time was tough. As long as I had what I needed, that’s all that mattered. Fast forward 10 years and life is a whole lot better and a lot different. I count myself as extremely fortunate and blessed. Now because of this, I’m filled with so much gratitude.

Every single experience, starting from my upbringing, has shaped me to be the person I am today. I’ve realised that it’s human to wish certain things were different growing up but without those certain things, I wouldn’t be the person I am or where I am today. I’ve still got a long way to go before I can say ‘yes, I’ve made it!’ but for now I’m proud. I love the person I’ve become and the fact that I’m still evolving. I read something about self-love that resonated with me:

‘Self-love means to appreciate who you are while being committed to your evolution. That’s why they fear those who love themselves; because you can’t use their flaws against them and you can’t hinder their growth game.’

I read that quote several times over because once just wasn’t enough for me. It made me think, like really think. Is this why I’m the first to openly point out my (external) flaws to people, so that they can’t use it against me, ever? Well, whatever it is I feel I’m at a time in my life where I’ve identified most, if not all, of my flaws and I’m working on the flaws I CAN change. The idea/saying that ‘I am who I am and I can’t/won’t be changed’ to me, is a bit of a cop-out. Yes, stand strong and be true to who you are but we ALL have (internal) flaws that we should identify and work on. I think a key part of this self-love and growth process is identifying the internal flaws that hinder us from becoming better people and working on them, so we’re able to become the best version of ourselves.

I won’t say there aren’t days when my self love is a little low but I know for sure I’m growing internally and I’m a lot kinder to myself. 

This is why I love meaningful conversations. I left the conversation feeling nothing but gratitude for everything that has, and will, happen in my life in the future. The good and the bad. The bad times allow us to appreciate and enjoy the good times so much more. If life was always rosey, how would we ever grow in resilience, strength, and wisdom?