Season 3 of The Crown came out last month and it took me approximately two days to finish it, only because I tried to pace myself this time. I’m not sure I loved it as much as the previous seasons, but there is one thing I can’t stop thinking about…
Don’t worry, no spoilers here if you haven’t seen the new season yet.
In episode three, while in a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister, Queen Elizabeth II talks about her inability to show emotion, specifically to cry in times when most people would/should/do.
She says, “I have known for some time there is something wrong with me.” When he replies that this doesn’t mean something is wrong, she quips, “Deficient then. How else would you describe it when something is missing?”
How true this is for the real Queen Elizabeth, I’m sure we’ll never truly know, but Prime Minister Wilson says to her,
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“We can’t be everything to everyone and still be true to ourselves.”
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Read that again.
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Let it sink in.
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When he said that, I actually paused the show and sat there in awe of this truth-bomb.
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We cannot be everything to those around us and still be true to who we are.
And although he was speaking in terms of public opinion and leadership, I think this applies quite broadly to any person in any situation – professionally, personally, and aspirationally.
So much of our 20’s (and adulthood all together) is trying to figure out who the heck we are, who we want to be, and what we want our lives to look like, but when we’re being pulled in so many directions by so many people – even if it’s our trusted loved ones – we have to remember that we can’t be everything to everyone.
At the end of the day, you have to do what feels right for you because I think in order to truly find joy in life, we must be true to ourselves.
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