Along your journey there are two influences you are bound to meet, sex and opinion, and you must make them your own; taking them from others may lead you astray.
The Journey
When we talk about “the journey,” it can sound vague — almost poetic without substance.
But the journey is simply this:
your movement through life.
And my days have felt like three lifetimes have already passed.
It is the path from birth to adolescence to adulthood.
From uncertainty to conviction.
From imitation to identity.
It is every relationship, every decision, every influence that shapes who you become.
And along that journey, two forces appear early and often: sex and opinion.
Both are powerful.
Both are persuasive.
And both can shape your direction, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Sex: Influence or Ownership?
Sex is more than physical attraction.
It carries identity, vulnerability, desire, validation, insecurity, connection. It can affirm us or confuse us.
In youth, many of us inherit our ideas about sex:
- From friends.
- From family.
- From media.
- From religion.
- From cultural expectations.
- From silence.
But inherited beliefs are not the same as chosen beliefs.
There was a time in my life when I confused attention with worth. I absorbed ideas about intimacy that weren’t mine; they were borrowed from what I saw around me.
It took experience and reflection. Sometimes it took regret to understand something important:
If you do not define your relationship with sex, someone else will.
Making it your own means:
- Deciding your boundaries intentionally.
- Understanding your values.
- Separating desire from pressure.
- Choosing connection, not performance.
Ownership transforms influence into alignment.
Opinions: The Invisible Pressure
Opinions are constant.
Everyone has one about your career, your relationships, your body, your beliefs, your choices.
Opinions can guide.
But they can also misguide.
Early in life, I shaped decisions around approval. I measured choices against how they would be received instead of how they felt internally.
The result?
Achievement without fulfillment.
Agreement without conviction.
Making opinions your own means:
- Listening without surrendering.
- Filtering advice through your values.
- Accepting that disagreement is not rejection.
- Standing comfortably in your decisions.
You can’t silence the world, but you can decide which voices matter.
Why Borrowed Influence Leads You Astray
Borrowed ideas feel safe. They come prepackaged.
But they do not account for:
- Your temperament.
- Your history.
- Your calling.
- Your emotional needs.
When we live by borrowed frameworks, we slowly drift from ourselves.
And sometimes the hardest work of adulthood is returning home to your own mind.
Reflection
Take a moment and ask yourself:
- Which beliefs about sex did I choose, and which did I inherit?
- Whose opinions still influence my decisions?
- When was the last time I changed my mind because it truly felt right?
Growth is not about rejecting influence. It is about integrating it consciously.
Your journey is uniquely yours.
The influences will come, they always do.
The question is:
Will you carry them… or will they carry you?
If this resonated with you, share your thoughts below.
Where have you had to reclaim ownership in your life? 🔑
Our Days & Futures 