All Letters of the Alphabet Appear in the Names of the American States Except for One

Which one do you think is missing?

Arizona. Texas. New Jersey.

The USA consists of 50 states, with names that run the gamut of rarely used letters. Z, X, J—they all appear. All, except for one—Q.

And why does that matter, you ask? Well…

Sometimes, we don’t need all ingredients.

Buried in the advertisements and SEO optimized text of online recipes, you occasionally strike gold. This looks delicious, you might even think.

Photo by Syd Wachs on Unsplash

Then you hit the list of ingredients.

OLIVES?

Are you serious right now? Who likes olives? I’m convinced the Greeks are just playing a prank on the rest of the world.

So, what do you do? You alter the recipe. You leave out the ingredient you’re not crazy about.

Some things are just difficult to work with.

Have you ever dreaded a task because you knew you could do it easier another way? Like reading a book on the small screen of your phone, running in sandals, or programming in c++?

It sucks.

If only you could do it some other way. You might not need to strain your eyes with a book or an eReader, your feet can get support with running shoes, and you don’t need a PhD to avoid creating bugs.

Sometimes it’s possible to do something one way—but that doesn’t mean we should.

Photo by Randy Laybourne on Unsplash

Maybe you’d do better if you try not to be liked by everyone.

You know how there are expectations for every. single. thing. you do? Your parents expect(ed) a good education and a stable job. Your friends expect you to hangout every weekend. Your colleagues expect you to be someone you’re not.

And you follow those expectations, even if it’s not what you believe deep down.

You’re dancing to someone else’s tune. You’re the snake, and they’re playing that one Pedro meme song on their flute. To be truly aligned with your curiosity and passion, not caring about judgment, is a skill. It takes courage to break free.

It can be terrifying.

Photo by Chris Linnett on Unsplash

Who knows where it leads? Loneliness and exclusion? Pain and fatigue? Love and happiness?

Some spend their lives in fear. What could have been—they‘ll never know.

The letter Q strikes me as one that isn’t afraid to follow its own path. Unlike that narcissistic letter, E, always so eager to fit in.

Maybe there’s something you don’t need to force?

Are you currently struggling? Take the time, right now, to consider some of these things.

What are the ingredients? Is there one you can remove?

Do you have the right support? Are you going at it with a hammer when you need a screwdriver?

And—most crucial of all—why are you doing it?

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