Break The Barrier
News flash!!!
There is no written script on how to live your life.
You are going to hear a whole lot of people telling you how to live yours, though. Society seems to have created a two-option menu for life.
Option One:
"The Family Path"
Go to college
Graduate college
Get a job in your field of study
Get married
Have a family
Work at your job until you a) retire or b) die
Option Two
"The Party Path"
Drop out of college/Do not go to college
Travel
Bum money off of others or get a temporary minimum wage job
Repeat until you tire of this path (usually around the age of 30ish)
Progress to step three or four of option one
.... Am I right?
Personally I don't want to live within bonds. Something feels really, really good about shattering the self-imposed glass walls of society.
And yes, they are self imposed. No one, and I do mean no one can make you do anything that you do not choose to do. Everywhere we turn in this life there are options.
If you run out of options, it is because you are facing the wall. Turn around and open a door.
Any door you pick will open to present new options. Just whatever you do, don't return to the beginning of the hallway and walk straight towards the same dead end.
No choice is scarier than the consequences of not making a choice.
"Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." Babe Ruth said that a long time ago and I find it very prevalent. We lose by default if we refuse to make a move. You are going to make mistakes. Lots of stupid mistakes.
Did you know that it takes approximately 5 million mistakes to learn a new language fluently? When I was learning Spanish, I was living in Chile and believe me... I made some bad mistakes! Horrible, humiliating, embarrassing mistakes. One time when I was trying to say that it was hot outside, I told a seven year old that I was sexually steamed... Bless her heart she corrected me sternly and her mother explained to her why I had said something so naughty. Because I was a bumbling newcomer to the language and I didn't know what I was talking about half the time... I was just happy to get out of that mess and you can bet that I never made that mistake again! I made my Argentinian friend help me practice how to talk about the weather. Baby steps.
Why should life be any different? All we can do is take steps and try our best to make them worth while. We choose to do the next right thing. Be it rectifying our mistakes, switching careers or making time to visit an lonely neighbour.
We can break away from the mundane and those things that are worthless. We can shatter walls, and barriers and all of the obstacles that are put in our path. We can achieve our dreams. If we choose to.
It may not be easy, It will take time and effort and all of those scary things that fear can stop us with. But it will be worth it. In the end it will all be worth it.
So what are your dreams?
What would you do if you weren't afraid?
Take the time to figure out what that would be, what it would mean for you.
Make the choice.
Go and Do It.
I can ramble on for ages but the only way any of this will help you is if you take action.
So please, go and grow. Go and change your life. Go and love yourself. Go enjoy this journey.