23 Comments
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Patrick Muindi's avatar

We should take ourselves seriously, but not too seriously; we should think highly of our ourselves, but not too highly...

Too much of everything is simply too much. Let others decide what they'll think of us. We are just people - like all other people - regardless of our achievements.

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Agreed! It’s all about balance

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Tinashe D. Ndhlovu's avatar

Being stuck up and thinking we are better than everyone sucks the fun out of living. Agreed.

We have to balance being serious when needed, but also staying humble and relaxed.

I have heard of this concept that you must surround yourself with "Only Quality People", as individuals we get to define what it means for each of us. Now let me not take myself too seriously - Thanks for the insights, Harun.

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Hahaha agreed. Glad it resonated with you!

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Mohika Mudgal's avatar

I shifted in my car seat as I read your essay. It made me feel as if you're taking directly TO ME. Not at me. Like a friend, a good one. Gently suggesting a turn of tides.

I'm stuck in traffic and I look out but I'm calmer than before. And the stick in my a** has softened a bit. I thank you for that 🌟🌟🌟

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Harun Kewa's avatar

That’s exactly my intention when writing these essays.

Glad I could help soften the stick in your a** 😉.

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Ayesha A.'s avatar

I agree with you completely. We all ought to be humble and stay grounded.

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Glad to hear it resonated with you!

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Ahmedh Aaqil Rifky's avatar

Great article. Im wondering if you can share your insight on this?

The internet very frequently tells us to “focus on ourselves”. When I try to follow alot of what they they, I find that i tend to take myself too seriously. It makes me feel disconnected from the world around me?

How do we navigate this aspect of the problem? So that I can focus on myself and still enjoy things like fooling around my friends, enjoying company with my family and most importantly let myself think freely without the need to live upto certain standards.

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Harun Kewa's avatar

I think focusing on ourselves should be approached holistically. We should identify what matter to us, not what society wants us to do. We should then pursue that thing. We also need to realise that socailising with family and friends, and doing fun activities are a part of focusing on ourselves.

It is said that "all work and no play makes jack a dull boy." I strongly agree with this. Focusing on ourselves does not mean being serious all the time and thinking we are above fooling around with loved ones or doing something fun. Some times we will need to work more and some times we will work less. It is part of the cycle of life and we should accept it.

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Ahmedh Aaqil Rifky's avatar

Beautiful answer. That sounds like a much better way of looking at it!

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Glad it was helpful!

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OMO IGBO's avatar

Unfortunately I just realised I do this. I get stuck up thinking my friends don't take thier lives as seriously as i do and it takes away the magic in our friendship. Of course I have my reasons but still it doesn't make me less wrong. I'm tired of carrying a perpetual frown on my face, so thank you for this. ❤️

Off to call my best friend and gossip like the old times. 😄

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Glad I could be of help! It’s ok to have different goals from our friends. As long as they’re not hindering our progress towards those goals, there’s no reason we can’t share a laugh and a bit of gossip with them.

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Elizabeth Grace Martinez's avatar

"Secondly, you need to stop surrounding yourself with people who take themselves too seriously." This is exactly why I left the music industry. I couldn't stand to hide my true self anymore around people who took themselves too seriously all the time.

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Good on you for ridding yourself of them! Life’s too short to be serious all the time.

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Rain Ella's avatar

Great article! The line between self respect and t*** level arrogance is quite thick and once anyone tries it’s so easy not to take ourselves too seriously

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Harun Kewa's avatar

Couldn’t agree more!

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Sebastián Videa Burgos's avatar

Harun, this was a great read! I think that often we can become arrogant and insufferable when we lack gratitude. We get lost in the rat race for more and more, and stop appreciating the small things. Would you agree?

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Harun Kewa's avatar

I definitely agree! Very few things are actually worth being serious over. We should try to enjoy our finite time on this world as much as possible.

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Jun 13, 2024
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Harun Kewa's avatar

Good to hear that your bowels are working properly!

I totally get you when it comes to thinking we’re better than hanging out with certain people. So long as they’re not a hindrance to our progress in life, there’s no reason we shouldn’t hang out with them.

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Jun 11, 2024
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Harun Kewa's avatar

I know people frown on it but I see no issue in laughing at your own jokes 😂. The main person we need to make happy is ourselves!

I totally agree with you on people-pleasing being a main reason why people act too serious. When you stop caring too much about what others think, you see that many things are not that deep.

Thank you for commenting, Odinakachi.

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Jun 11, 2024
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Harun Kewa's avatar

🙏🏾

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