It’s true. I’ve gotten a second chance at life. Not because anything in particular happened. It was only that I decided to start LIVING.
Yes. I actually GAVE myself a second chance. Because no one was going to do it for me.
I decided to push aside the shame from past thing I had done, and past things that had been done to me. And, start doing things despite.
And, of course, I am still struggling with shame and worry. I mean, that is the number one thing that keeps most people from doing what they are meant to do… It’s worrying about what others might think or say.
But, the more that you act despite your fears, the weaker they will be come.
The funny thing is that while coming up with the content for this article, I happened to come by a video by Oprah called “Second Chance.”
In the video, Oprah talked about how she had been raped, got pregnant, had the baby prematurely, and because of complications from that premature delivery, her baby had passed away.
I had no idea that Oprah had a baby. I know this is old news, but apparently, I am out of the loop.
She was only 14 years old. But, she felt that at that moment, it was her second chance at life.
She decided to make something of herself, and of course, we all know the rest of the story.
But, the truth is that we don’t need something drastic like that to happen in order to get our own second chance.
We can give ourselves a second chance at any time. And, that’s exactly what I did.
Giving myself permission to be me
I decided that I had lived under the rule of what I should be doing for too long, and started following my heart more.
The journey wasn’t easy. But, I got to the point where the pain of staying the same was worse than making the change.
It was only a few years ago that I was unhappy, out of shape, in a constant state of worry, and wondering who I was and what the hell happened.
And, at that point, I made a decision to actually do something.
I started making less announcements, and taking more action.
Less wishing, more working.
Less excuses, more making shit happen.
Less blame, more responsibility.
Less neediness, more independence.
Less seeking validation, more confidence.
Less worrying, more freedom.
I don’t know what it is that you want in your life, but I’m not going to sugar coat things. You probably need to work 10 times harder than you think to achieve your big goals in life. You probably need to do 10 times more things than you think you need to do.
But, I will promise you that you CAN do it and that the hard work is worth it.
Because if I can do it, you can do it. I am just an average person who decided that I had had enough and it was time to start living.
Don’t sell yourself short.
Your life is waiting.
PS — Have you taken the Brave & Bold Challenge yet? Enroll now and give yourself a second chance at life.
Originally published at www.bridgettepetrino.com on March 22, 2017.
Originally published at medium.com