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The More Secure We Are, the More Free We Are
How generational security allows you to live your best life
There’s a spicy British pop group called Little Mix that produced a song called “Wings.” The song is an anthem to living your best life, and not letting haters get in the way of your success and happiness — a refrain common among most conversations around work, life, and success these days.
The lyrics of the chorus are:
Mama told me not to waste my life
She said, “Spread your wings my little butterfly”
And this weird thing happens in my Gen-X brain every time I hear the song: I involuntarily replace the word “waste” with the word “live.” That means, I’m singing in my head on repeat: “Mama told me not to live my life…”
It was weird the first time it happened. I laughed it off, though, and told myself, “Live your life, don’t waste it — duh!” And the next time the chorus of the tune that was stuck in my head came around, I did it again.
This time I was baffled by my Freudian slip. Was it even Freudian? I mean, surely my mom wanted me to live my best life.
Didn't she?
A little more reflection, and I had a realization: My mom has actually always held back at life.