I accept your apology for your lie, you must be a penny stock promoter, welcome :)

I’m realizing more and more what it means, and there are many, many subtle ways this manifests throughout your day, but the more you pay attention to who you are trying to please and how, the more you realize that in some ways, many of us hate ourselves. I know it sounds harsh, but it’s a wake-up call and how else to explain why we do so little that makes us happy? The first real step is asking yourself, ‘Who am I, and what makes me truly happy?’ For myself, having to answer that question and not b.s. my way through it was life changing. I realized how often I’m putting on a mask to make others happy. In some ways, I felt like I wasn’t even sure what my personality consisted of (I’m still not, but it’s a process). But I think once you start putting yourself first, self-love and acceptance and confidence find their way into your soul. I don’t think it’s possible to be successful AND happy without these core beliefs. Also, that, I think, is when you begin to feel truly grateful, rather than practicing gratitude as some kind of self-help exercise. It comes out of feeling, for the first time, the lightness of true happiness and self-acceptance.