I talked to my friend the other day about this crazy world we live in and how it can sometimes take a toll on our happiness. She has been going through obstacles in her personal life and career. Suddenly, she is dealing with the need to rebuild her life and career from the ground up.
We laughed about travelling across the world to a monastery, possibly a cabin in the woods, enduring life, avoiding starting over. Life threw her a curveball, and she was tired of fighting back. This question came up; Is it possible to find serenity/peace by avoiding life?
It occurred to me that millions of people worldwide have had to do the same over the past year, so I thought to answer this question and shed some light through my experiences.
When you look back, will you be at peace with your decision to avoid or coast through life?
Hence, is avoiding life truly the answer?
Being at peace with myself, who I am, what I had achieved, and what I wanted from life was hard work. It took a long time, and along the journey, I almost called it quits (several times). Like the rest of the people in the world, I had dreams and aspirations, but I was afraid of taking the necessary steps to achieve them. I was scared of failure, loss, commitment, and the time required to achieve my goals.
As you know, success is not guaranteed.
Though that may be the case, what is life without dreams and ambitions? Without taking risks, doing whatever it takes to accomplish said goals? What is life without experiences? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Therefore, to put it bluntly, though not literally, I was avoiding life.
Reminiscing, I know that I was afraid, and to this day, I continue to wage war with fear. It’s akin to a ghost, always there to remind me that I may fail. Here’s the thing though, if you’re not afraid to take action, of what comes next, of taking risks, then you’re doing something wrong. If you’re learning a new skill and it’s easy, then you’re doing something wrong. Progress can be a painful exercise, but progress means you’re taking action, and action often leads to success.
Nothing worth doing is easy.
I wasn’t ready to invest the effort, time or do what was needed to achieve my dreams and aspirations. In other words, I was settling for less because of my fear and doubts about my ability to succeed. Thankfully, I decided to grab the bull by its horn because we only get one life. One life to be exceptional, to be our best, to succeed, to thrive, to realise our dreams and aspirations.
We only get one life. Some longer than others, and some shorter than others, nevertheless we all get one.
So, the question is, what if?
- What if I conquered my doubts and fears and took a leap of faith?
- What if I invested time, effort, and resources to help me attain my goals?
- What if I stopped settling because I know I could be and accomplish more?
- What if I took that risk and soared higher than I had imagined.
What If…?
I continue to say this to myself each day. The difference is that fear and doubts no longer govern me. The drive to want more from life and to constantly thirst for more influences me.
I want you to fight for more, to battle the ghost that haunts you with fear, to take action when you’re thinking, “What If”. Never in a million years should you stop striving for more. Serenity comes with living life to its fullest, and life is nothing without risk and experiences.
What’s your “What If” story? And each day, what steps do you take to make it your reality?