There is one word that goes through my mind every day. I think now is a time for me to address it.
This word is fear. The fear that life will not go as I plan. The fear that something terrible will happen to me. The fear that those around me will choose not to love me anymore. The fear that people will view me in a poor light.
In life, there are many things to potentially fear. With every good comes the bad. However, realistically speaking, are any of these fears worth holding us back from the life that we wish to live?
Think about it this way: if there are things that you truly want to do in life, you have to take risks. There has to be this fire within you that you constantly feed in order to achieve what you truly want. Fears put this fire out. Fears tell you that the things that you want are irrational. Fears remind you that bad things can happen at any time and, instead of focusing on the good things that could be happening to you, you focus on the bad instead. Fears tell you that you shouldn’t enjoy life. They tell you that you don’t deserve to be successful. They cause you to linger on every difficulty rather than become resilient.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are things in life that we fear with good reason. These are the fears driven by human nature to avoid a fatal downfall. If you’re afraid of jumping from a building, that’s understandable. That is something that puts your life in jeopardy. However, the fears that we face on a day-to-day basis are things that are a lot less threatening and a lot more hindering than the fear of physical pains.
Not everyone in life is going to like what you do. Yes, many people in life will feel that it is their right to tell you that what you’re doing is wrong. We need to analyze this differently.
People that voice their negative opinions in a manner that isn’t constructive nor beneficial:
- Crave control. They want to know that their words are enough to change the way you feel or what you’re doing.
- Are bored with their own life. They clearly don’t have many positive things in life that they need to focus on. If they did, their focus would be on their own choices rather than yours.
The end of it all is that we can’t allow people or opinions or trends affect the way that we think about ourselves and our decisions. You are strong enough to achieve whatever you put your mind to. You are bigger than your fears. Light that fire within you and never stop feeding it.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
a little latte 