--In the simple years, how many people are stuck in the trivial, long ago forgot to love themselves;
--How many people are peeking at the daily lives of others, always thinking that happiness is elsewhere.
A few days ago, while watching short videos, I was immediately captivated by chubby dancing grandma.
She didn't have the physique of a professional dancer, nor did she have a refined makeup, nor did she perform deliberately.
She was just smiling, dancing freely to the music.
Her dance partner was the "speed skating grandpa" who became popular in a Beijing park a while ago.
The grandpa wore roller skates and was sliding waltz in the park, with fluid movements;
The grandma was gently dancing along to the music, and the two of them, one skating and the other dancing, were cooperating naturally and easily.
In just a few days, this video spread like wildfire.
More and more people gathered to watch in the park, and various media came to interview her, and thus she quickly became popular.
Many netizens said:
"I just like to see her smile."
Some said:
"When I was in a bad mood, seeing her smile, I suddenly relaxed."
I originally thought that what moved me was just this dance.But later I realized that what moved many people was actually a lot more than that.
What we like is never how professional she dances, but the long-lost sense of relaxation in her.
What Are We Really Longing For?
Life nowadays seems to make people increasingly tense.
We scroll through others' lives every day.
- Someone gets promoted.
- Someone makes money.
- Someone travels.
- Someone starts exercising, learning, or starting a business.
We always think that happiness is where others are.
So, we constantly demand that ourselves to be better, harder, and more successful.
But slowly, we forget:
When did we start needing a reason to be happy?
Later, when the media interviewed the grandma, they asked her why she always smiled so happily.
Her answer was very simple:
"I have nothing to worry about. I'm just happy."
What she healed was actually every tired person.
There is a saying online: Greatness is achieved through persistence.
But I think the grandma didn't aim to become great.
She didn't aim to become an Internet celebrity
She didn't aim to have many followers.
Nor did she aim to make money from dancing.
She just liked dancing.
She liked music.
But precisely this "no purpose" actually infected everyone.
She made many people suddenly stop and think：
Why are we so tired every day?
Why do we always worry about how others see us?
Why do we always rush to prove ourselves?
Are many of these troubles actually given by ourselves?
I once turned a thing I liked into pressure.
Seeing her dance， I suddenly remembered a small incident from a few years ago.
A friend introduced a dance partner to me.
I just wanted to have some fun.
However, this dance partner was so professional.
The movements were not standard， the rhythm was wrong， the posture was problematic...
Every time we danced, he could point out a bunch of my flaws.Finally, I lost the ability to dance.
A thing that was supposed to be enjoyable turned into an exam unconsciously.
In the end，I didn't persist.
Later， I realized that such things are everywhere in life.
Many people enjoy photography.
Later, they began to aspire to create great works.
Many people like writing.
Later, they began to think about the reading volume.
Many people like running.
Later, they started to pursue the pace.
Many people enjoy investing.
Later, they constantly monitor the ups and downs of their accounts.
Slowly，we have turned all our interests into performance evaluations.
Perhaps， we really don't need to be anyone.
In real life，we always feel：
We must be excellent.
We must be professional.
We must reach a certain standard.
In fact, most things are originally done to make oneself happy.
Not everyone has to become a professional dancer.
Not everyone has to write ten thousand words.
Not everyone has to become an investment expert.
You do it simply because you like it.
You do it simply because you enjoy it.
You do it simply because you hope to make a little progress every day.
Sometimes, the best state is not to strive desperately to prove oneself, but to allow oneself to grow slowly.
True compound interest occurs unexpectedly.
I have always believed in a saying:
All visible results come from those invisible repetitions.
The grandma wouldn't have imagined that one day she would become a social media influencer.
She just kept dancing day by day.
Buffett wouldn't read every day just because he wanted to become a stock god.
He just reads books every day for decades.
Many excellent creators didn't start writing because they had tens of thousands of followers first.
Instead, they kept writing and later gained readers.
Life is the same.
What truly changes us is never a sudden burst one day.But those undetected daily routines.
Time will accomplish many things for you.
Final words
Many people ask:
How can one have the life they desire?
I increasingly believe that the answer might not be so complicated.
Let go of the obsession to prove oneself urgently.
Let go of the anxiety of constantly trying to catch up with others.
Do something that you truly love.
Then, persist day by day.
Don't always think about when you will succeed.
Don't always ask when there will be a result.
Because when you start enjoying the process, the result often happens quietly.
Just like that dancing grandma.
She didn't chase applause.
But applause came to her.
Many beautiful results in life might be like this.
When you live seriously and love freely, time will eventually lead you to your destined place.
---Extended Reading and Resources
👉True compound interest is never a sudden surge on a single day.
Rather, it is the accumulation that you undertake quietly when others are in a hurry to achieve success.
👉Compound Interest Thinking: The Underestimated Fundamental Logic of Wealth and Growth
[A curated list of tools and books that have genuinely helped me on my journey. If you find them useful, they might help you too.]
[My reading list] & [My everyday toolkit]