YOU: Beta Version 2.0

"It's better to be yourself, than to try to be some version of what you think the other person wants." -- @ihatequotes

No sense pretending someone you're not. It's one thing to change for the better, it's another to force yourself to live up to someone else's expectation knowing that you can't keep it up for the long term.

Beta versions are trial versions, early releases that have a lot of bugs and issues. An early release of another version of you have to undergo a trial stage where you have to determine if you wanna go through with it or undo and shelf the idea.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for self-improvement and embracing change. We are not perfect, and in whatever kind of relationship -- whether business, platonic and especially otherwise -- there will always be adjustments and sacrifices and compromise, one on top of the other. Actually, there is probably a very thin line between adjustment/compromise and pretension and it's really up to you to figure out which is which.

I guess it boils down to one thing: Are you willing to change, to adjust? Are you willing to compromise? Or are you merely going through the motions to avoid further conflict and issues?

If your self-improvement comes from within, your own initiative and your own desire, then go for it. Do it for yourself first and foremost, then do it for others. That way, if in case it goes unappreciated by the others, at least you know you did it for yourself too. (If you don't appreciate your own effort, go see a shrink.)

But if the changes you're struggling to go through seem to be a burden to you, or you seem to always *want to* have a relapse, then think about it. Is this really what you want? Can you compromise something so this can be what you want? If you feel like you have to wear this mask or wear that costume, well, then it probably is an act that you have to play for the necessary duration. A 30-day trial? Who knows? The question is, can you keep it up?

We all have roles to play one way or another. It's a fact of dear life. Beta versions of a new you is just a larger, more permanent picture this time. It's a life decision, and it takes a lot of courage and wisdom to accept your answer to the million-dollar question:

Release all new and improved YOU: Version 2.0 Full?
Or Restore Backup?