Dear Zoe,
If there is one question in life that everyone should constantly ask themselves, it is this: How do you measure your life?
The question forces you to ask yourself what makes life worth living for you, or in essence, what are the most important things in life.
Each person will have different ways to measure their lives and it will determine who they will become as a human being. People who have the same measurements in life tend to flock together.
We need to continually ask this question because it will determine the quality of your life.
Of course, you don’t really get to ask this question as a kid, and even probably as a teenager. These measurements are usually set up by your parents (ahem) or your teachers, or even your religious leader.
These measurements they give you are usually ‘safe,’ in a sense that meeting these measurements will help you become a functioning adult, but not necessarily a joyful adult.
They are like those pink plastic crutches you used as a toddler to practice walking. They help you walk upright, but they don’t help you to run.
At one point in time, you need to edit these measurements you get from your authority figures. If they are serving your life well and help you be a good person, then keep it. If it causes you to be continually angry and frustrated, then perhaps you need to rethink if these measurements are still relevant to you.
Lastly, this question will also help you determine how you measure other people’s worth, because more often than not, the standard you use to measure yourself is the standard you use to measure others.
So be wary on determining the ways you measure your life