apply yourself

When you order an item and it gets delivered to you, usually the first thing you would do is to size up the box or package. You would take a look at it and try to figure out the best way to unwrap or unbox it. In that moment, right before the unboxing, we experience a feeling that is much like what parents have when staring at their newborn or like a prince staring as his wife-to-be. 

That’s a special moment, one that signifies the beginning of endless possibilities. 

When that is done, what ensues is an unboxing process. This is the process of getting familiar with the item in your package. You get to see its edges and parts - and with each moment you spend unboxing, you become more familiar with your new item. 

But it doesn’t end there, there is a process that is far more essential than anything that had happened before - and that is the process of putting your item to use. We can take this analogy and apply it to different things. But today, I want us to think of them in terms of ourselves. 

painting by Lena Danya

You see as humans, we are so peculiar because - like a new shipment - each and everyone of us were delivered to this world, and as babies, the possibilities were endless. We could become anything we wanted to be. And to some extent, even as adults, that is still the case. We, still, can become whoever we want to be. 

We unbox ourselves - as we age, grow, become more mature and get a better understanding of the world around us. As we do, we began to know ourselves. But all this is worth nothing, if we never apply yourself. If we don’t take action and put our ideas, talents, skills, and passion to good use, we lose value. 

Every other step can be done for you. The world can size you up by trying to predict your future. The world can try to unbox you by trying to define you. But the world cannot add value to you. Only you can do that. Only you can apply yourself.