My whole life I tried to make certain people proud of me. I had these people up on pedestals, thinking they were almost god like. Demi gods maybe? Either way, for way to long I would do things in an attempt to make them proud. The things I did weren’t what was always right, in fact I did some messed up stuff to try and please them.
Finally, I realized I was completly wrong. They weren’t demi gods, but mere mortals, with flaws and messed up parts too. It wasn’t fair to anyone to hold them up like i did, it only made things worse. Most importantly, I learned to stop trying to earn the words “I’m proud of you.”
My value isn’t based on what they think. Sure, I’d like everyone to be proud of me all the time, but to try and live for that is impossible. I couldn’t ever reach that, and they could never give it. I have to be me, and only one person is special enough to earn my devotion to make them proud. Not because I need her to be proud of me, but because I want her to be.
I’m proud of me, and at the end of the day, that’s the most important. I don’t do things to make people proud anymore, I do things to better me, my wife, and my family. The things that actually matter. My pride is nothing without them, because I chose that. I will make them proud, by not trying to.