We go looking for failure.
Not really on purpose, but sometimes, it is all we can focus on. We have all stumbled a time or two as we have traveled through our life and the fear of another setback is just something that we can do without. So we expect the worst. Every time. We never believe we have a shot at that promotion we really want so we never fill out the paperwork, only to go back to doing the same thing we despise. We never ask that girl out for fear of being rejected after allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. We never take that risk. The same risk life begs of us.
We follow the crowd.
It is easier to never have to make a decision or take any responsibility either. We just follow the “school of fish” never stopping to ask, “Is this what I really want to be doing?” Falling in line is easy. But what happens if you change your mind? If your experiences have somehow changed your perspective on life? No one promotes “going against the grain” because that is not what most of us do. We take the easiest route instead of the road less traveled. We have been conditioned that way.
We play it safe.
Growing up, we told we could be anything we want, but only if we were careful and cautious. We could never “push the envelope” too much. Most kids get hurt because they were not thinking about being safe — they were caught up in the moment. Now as adults, we are missing out on those glorious moments of absolute freedom because our biggest concern seems to be one of security instead. Our fear leaves us paralyzed as we hold out in the safety of what we know. Our excitement of doing something new and maybe a little dangerous is just what our psyche needs.
We have no hope.
The world nowadays is full of turmoil, hatred, and animosity that will not diminish overnight. And our future generations are never going to believe that any action they take will make an impact if they don’t have hope. In order for us to take a step away from the common thread, we must understand that our purpose will stand for something, even long after we are gone. Instead of compromising what we can’t do with laziness and justifications as why something won’t work, let’s give it a shot anyway. What have we got to lose?
We stopped listening to our hearts.
At some, point, filling our pockets with cash, loading up on material possessions, and taking from others because we could became our way of life. In the end, we don’t feel any more full because we have “stuff” and our regrets become almost too much to bear as we suffer through guilt and mistakes made along the way. Our hearts beg for us to listen to them — to find what feeds our souls and to enhance the lives of others in whatever we can. So we play in that local golf fundraiser never really taking the time to see how we can make a difference in someone else’s life. But in order to really understand what our hearts feel, we must get “in the trenches” and allow ourselves to be vulnerable and exposed.
We quit.
We give up on the good fight because it’s hard and long with no guarantee of success. Looking around the crowd, we see no other participants taking up where we leave off and our efforts, although honorable, become too much to bear alone. Walking away is simple and we can wash our hands of any more responsibility and there is always the token, “I did what I could…it just didn’t work out” answer. Out of strength and tired, we believe we cannot find a single ounce to take another step.
We forgot our “why.”
Most of us will not commit to something unless we believe we will be successful. There has to be a chance of accomplishing what we want to achieve. Our reasons for being pulled in a particular direction can lose its power if we wind up on a road we never intended to take, dealing more than we imagined, or never seem to be making any head way. Our draw towards a specific goal has lost its meaning and we forget our reasons for beginning in the first place. Lost momentum and faded eagerness begin to take hold — whether intended or not — and our focus seems unclear. No matter our background, our education level, or our when we get started, holding ourselves back is a disservice to the rest of the world. Our natural-born talents go untapped, un-shared, and hidden. No one assigns our limits to us, we assign them to ourselves. And in doing so, we can also unassign them. Doing something out of the norm and unorthodox might upset the apple cart and many people will not understand your motives, believing that they are built on false pretenses. True limits continue to grow after they have been met…as long as we don’t hold ourselves back from reaching our full potential. Featured photo credit: Kaley Dykstra via images.unsplash.com
