EILEEN ADLER

“Standing in the most fragile place of her life, she returned to the only net she knew – herself,” concluded Kya Clark (“Marsh Girl”) from the book Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
 

Many of us studied the works of William Shakespeare during our formal education and often we heard the advice spoken by Polonius, King Claudius’ chief minister and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. They think of him as a fool but this scene from Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet (Act-1, Scene-III) doling out advise to his son, features one of Shakespeare’s most often quoted lines:  

“This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

“To thine own self be true” trying to match our outer persona with our deepest feelings, but how well do we know ourselves? How aware are we? How often, in a difficult moment, do we put on our “game face” and project an image that is inauthentic? If we feel trapped, we must extricate ourselves from that and express our feelings authentically for this is not the time to fake it. That inner feeling, self-talking voice, gut feelings, our intuition must be acknowledged.

Life Lesson: Steve Jobs is often quoted as saying, “Your time is limited. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Although he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2011, his sage advice will always ring true. Find your courage.