In the time it takes you to read this sentence, someone has taken their last breath. Isn’t that the most heart-wrenching thought? To be reminded that this life is so fleeting and our days are numbered? To realize that everything is impermanent, even our bodies and desires? And what a loss it would be if you didn’t take a chance, didn’t reach for what matterso you, didn’t try and fail, didn’t go?
What is holding you back?
Is it the fear that you’ll jump and no one will be able to catch you? That you’ll dive headfirst into a relationship with someone who ends up leaving? That you’ll try and fail? That what you thought would happen turns out to be the opposite? That you’ll spend your life looking back with regret?
Or are you scared that something might actually fall into place? That the person might actually have feelings for you, too? That what you’ve dreamed about really is within reach? That maybe you don’t have to be scared, you just are because you’ve told yourself you should be?
Life is so short. So incredibly short. And sometimes we get led astray because we think we’re supposed to be working, and spending money, and toeing this line to get to ‘the right place’ before we can grab ahold of what we want. We get jobs as a means of survival, yet we let them own us. We live to work instead of work to live. We forget what it means to be happy, to celebrate, to do things that we’re passionate about, even if that doesn’t always translate to success. We wait to go on a vacation, to see friends, to take trips, to have fun because we’re so busy saving for this time in the future. We’re waiting for some sign to tell us that we’re ready before taking the first step.
We’re looking ahead so much that we forget to exist in the now.
But what’s holding you back from living a good life in this moment?
Is it money? Is it doubt? Is it fear? Is it a little voice in your head that says you can’t? Is it the people around you, the situation you’ve put yourself in? The sense of unworthiness you’ve created in your mind as a barrier between who you have the potential to be and the desires on your heart?
Why are you listening to this?
Stop waiting. Stop holding back. You’ll never be ready. You’ll never have it all together. You’ll never fully know if you’re making the right decision, heading in the proper direction, making the good choice. You’ll never understand why a person leaves, or what’s going on in their mind to make them break your heart. You won’t always get the respect or closure you deserve, or the answers to the questions burning in your mind.
You won’t always feel confident, or prepared, or even happy. But if you’re too afraid to go after the things that do bring you joy, you’ll always be stuck wondering why. You’ll always be surrounded by emptiness, trying to claw your way out with your eyes closed.
Stop holding back. Stop waiting for the perfect time, perfect person. Stop wishing for everything to fall into place or the answers to come.
Stop keeping yourself back from chasing someone who makes you feel alive, from a job that seems scary but incredible, from an opportunity that’s too big, but is knocking at your door nonetheless.
Stop thinking you are unworthy of a good life and start pursuing it instead.
Because our time on this earth is so temporary; we never know our next breath, next step. So why would we waste another minute wishing we could change, wishing we could go on a vacation, wishing we could have a good job or a happy marriage, wishing we had the means to start over when truthfully, the pounding in our chest is all we need?
Stop waiting, stop holding yourself back from what could be, and try.
Go. Love. Seek. Trust. Believe. Move. Right now.
Featured Image Credit: Lucas Lenzi
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