Home→Forums→Emotional Mastery→Resentment and how it distorts my future
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July 11, 2014 at 1:44 pm #60645David MLParticipant
Recently, I’ve been wanting to become strong – physically and spiritually. I want to know how to fight but also how to love all who I come across, no matter the type. I want to accept people, bad or good. I simply want to become a great, great person. This is why at 20 years of age and 3/4ths of my way through my current college degree, I decided I would become a great doctor.
My father is the one who has been pressuring to change paths and study medicine. I’ve been afraid of doing so because of the money issue, yet my father continued to reassure me that the money was only a secondary problem. One day, I agreed to study medicine during one of his talks.
So during this summer break, I have been home forcing myself to study organic chemistry in preparation for the difficult classes I would have to take. I have never been good at studying but newly found motivation helped me learn how. 3 days in… I’ve become agitated deep down. I didn’t enjoy the studying but at least I enjoyed how I was making progress.
I read an online article about how a top student in a private school killed his parents randomly. Eventually, he realized it was because he felt suffocated by his parents and that they were forcing him to be something else he wasn’t… and for some reason I identified with him. I had a dream the other night where I was yelling at my parents. I was screaming at them with such hatred and rage and all they did in that dream was stare at the ground in shame. I realized that in forcing myself to study, I was suffocating something important. I told myself that this was all to become a doctor, to help people and heal them, NEVER EVER treading upon the idea that maybe I was doing it for my parents in the end. That was taboo, to myself, in myself.
It’s not like I don’t want to be a doctor. But I feel like I’m doing it for the wrong reasons. I was bullied as a child and didn’t get along well with people in high school and my first two years of college. My mother was verbally abusive, almost bipolar (scream, berate, then cool down and sometimes apologize). She was very, very good at putting me down. My dad would laugh and try to cheer me up so it hurt me a lot when he and my mother had to fight. I think this has put some kind of deep resentment towards the world inside me that I never really got over. I desire to be wise and know what to do when people break down because at that point I’ll probably know how to deal with myself. I desire to be strong and great and at a high social status like at the position of a famous doctor because inside I want to give the entire world the finger. That’s no motive a doctor should have, right?
I have deeply rooted feelings of resentment that warps my visions for myself in the future. I tell myself that I want to be great because it’s to help people when in reality I identify more with the warriors of old times that struck fear into people and did nothing but fight. I think that I would make a great king when I know deeeeep down that I’d probably become a cruel tyrant. I obsess with being taller than other men and am damaged inside when I have to stand next to guys taller than me. I don’t know. I want to get over this desire of being the biggest, the strongest, and the ultimate. I don’t even really know if I want to be a doctor. But I want to stop wanting to be the greatest just to stand over everyone else.
Thanks for reading. Sorry if it’s confusing.
July 11, 2014 at 8:15 pm #60655@Jasmine-3ParticipantHi David ML
Thanks for your post.
There were some worrying patterns in your post and I am not sure what to make of them at this stage. Are you under the pump or feeling overwhelmed ? If yes, can you take a chill pill, pls and be kind to yourself.
Hey, you are only 20 and you still have 80 years in front of you. Where is the hurry to do anything ? If you are not able to enjoy the current moment for what it is then your future is just gonna be the same past repeating itself. Is that worth it ?
Your main aim currently should be to enjoy your youth with dignity as it aint coming back. There is ample of time to do other things when we have fulfilled our basic survival needs.
Please note, Medicine is a life long career, which involves life long learning. It is a very worthwhile profession for most but for some it is the worst profession to get into as it brings out the worst in their mental health. Hey, there is always an option of doing graduate medicine nowadays, which means you do a basic degree, work for a few years and then get into medicine if it still takes your fancy. Have you heard of such a program in your country ? If not, you can always come to Australia in the future.
You should utilise your energy for things that you enjoy and can focus 100 percent on at a given time. When you are able to do this then your creativity will be at max and unlimited success will be a lovely consequence. Do things half heartedly and you will be chasing the goodwill all your life.
Exercise, good nutrition, hanging out with friends, playing sports, helping out at charities, spending quality time with family , focussing on studies, making a career , developing good communication skills etc – all these will give you the roadmap for where you want to be in the future. Try and skip the steps and you know where life will take you.
I hope you will take the positives out of this post and use your precious energy for what needs to be done at hand. The following will aid you in your pursuits – accepting yourself for who you are with your flaws and strengths (and work on getting better each day if you wish); loving yourself unconditionally and forgiving yourself for the miseries that you put your mind /body through. Focus is inwards and not outwards in spirituality. I change and the world around me changes to reflect my changes. If you don’t like the life film being played in front of you, change your inner film 🙂
Best wishes,
Jasmine
July 11, 2014 at 11:53 pm #60665MattParticipantDavid,
I’m sorry for your suffering, and can understand how resentment can fester in the heart of a good man. There’s a feeling, a desire to be good, productive, helpful, a hero, but as we look back at the cruelty we endured, do others really deserve our grace? People are selfish, mean, abusive, distracted… its easy to become motivated to become a champion just to spit in their arrogant faces. But you’re right, that’s not fuel for a happy journey. A few things came to heart as I read your words.
Consider that people don’t really choose to be cruel. From conditions beyond their control, such as their parents, their brain chemistry, fears, and so forth, people do all sorts of dumb things. Thoughtless things. We push each other over on the playground, trying to figure out just how tall we are, turning competitive instead of co-creative. Its normal, usual, and happens to most of us.
To heal from this we find authentic forgiveness. We have to look at our abusers in our minds eye and choose to forgive them, heal, reclaim our peace from them. “Mom, no matter the conditions that brought your painful barbs, I forgive you. May we be free from any leftover afflictions. School bully, no matter what conditions brought your actions, I forgive you. May we be free from any leftover afflictions.” As we choose to make space, find compassion, choose to see “mom” and “brother” again, rather than “bipolar abusive parent” or “bully”, the resentment fades. Why resent that your mom has had difficulty with balance? Its hard enough for her, without making it about you.
Consider that forgiving isn’t really about them, such as a gift you give to them because they are deserving. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves to be free from our past. Doctor, janitor, pilot… what does it matter if your head is stuck in the past? Why let clouds of past memories hold sway in the present? We can choose to set it down, let it go, forgive, accept, move on. Then, their karma is theirs, and ours is ours. Their height is between them and their genetics and nutrition, and your height is between you and your genetics and nutrition. The rest is laughable, empty of meaning. He thinks he’s better because he’s taller? That’s an interesting perception. He thinks he’s worse because he’s shorter? That’s an interesting perception.
Finally, consider starting a metta meditation practice. This anger at your parents is probably projected because your body is being overtaxed. If we don’t take time to be kind, set down the whip, and be still, silent, aware, our bodies start giving us all sorts of difficult emotional outbursts, painful mental images. Its just shadows of stress, and don’t mean we’re mean people or anything like that. Our stomachs growl when they’re hungry, and our heart growls when its tired. Metta helps us to find rest, recharge that inner lightness, warmth in our heart. What starts as a quest to find out if we’re a good person usually ends in laughter as we find out how to be self caring, let go, move on. We just have to be patient, and wait for the clouds to pass. Consider “Sharon Salzburg guided metta meditation” on YouTube if interested.
Namaste, brother, may you find your raft and paddle.
With warmth,
MattJuly 12, 2014 at 7:38 pm #60741David MLParticipantThanks guys. I’ll read your words some more.
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