Living On My Own Terms Part 1

Slightly more than 4 years ago, I was on the verge of suicide. The actual verge of jumping off the stairwell of my 14 floor apartment block. I had my shoes, my belongings all tucked in the corner and was looking out and down.

It was the lowest point of my whole life; I was overwhelmed by work, family matters and life. It felt like I had no other choices. Then a stray cat appeared and stared at me while it meowed, as though asking me to think again. Literally, the cat saved me. I ended up adopting the cat and well, that’s another story altogether.

This technical glitch in my life made me think, a lot! I realised that all I was doing in that version of my previous life was trying to live up to society’s expectations of me.

How much I’m supposed to earn, the type of house I live in, the kind of lifestyle I’m supposed to have and the likes. Think about it, how many times have we actually wanted to live the life, the things we want to do or have, only to give it up with an internal voice saying “that’s not the way, people are never going to accept that!” or “that’s not how people do it!”

Oh yea, I can imagine a lot of you guys nodding your head in silence sheepishly. Yet, not many people dares to live on their own terms.

Fast forward to 4 years later, I’ve been travelling for about 2 months now in Asia, writing this piece, sipping one of the best coconut milk shakes I’ve ever had, right beside one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Which is why, I’m starting this blog to document my travels and jiu jitsu journeys; how living on my own terms changed my life! I hope that in this process, I can inspire others who are going through hard times to start living on their own terms, one step at a time!

In my next post, I will write about what it personally means to be living on my terms.

"Follow Your Own Path"
Jason