It’s amazing how much changes when we choose a healthy path and walk away from stories that no longer serve us. Our lives become more meaningful with all the abundant choices in front of us. Apparently, they say, we each make 35,000 choices in a day—227 are about food alone.
But who cares what the average or the trends or how accurate these statistics are, when what is truly important is our ability to adopt a healthy mindset. And when we do, we focus on quality and what’s right in front of us.
When I was a younger, my mother taught me not to run after a bus or a guy. She said there was always abundance; another bus will surly arrive but it may take a bit longer so I can leave a bit earlier. It was my choice whether I chased or flowed with what appeared.
Here is a truth. It doesn’t matter how stressful life gets, there is always a way forward. We may not like the choices in front of us, and it may be very difficult. But there is always a way. How we feel about taking risks says a lot about us. When it comes to risk, what matters is that we take the ones that matter most to us.
While there are some people who naturally take risks, there are others who stand back and wonder what they are missing by playing it safe. It all comes down to how we define success and failure.
When our success is determined simply by comparing ourselves to everyone else, we’ll always be a slave to other people’s standards and needs. Did we experience something special or did we buy the perfect, hottest, recommended gift? We learn to be safe, but safe can also be risky when we don’t listen to our own heart.
The real question to ask is “Why can’t I?” It’s a question that always stays with us. We can choose to give up or to keep trying. Keep hoping that it will all work out and if not, there will be an important lesson in it.
At the end of the day, what we are left with is knowing that we did our best and that we’ll get up in the morning and try again. Are we ever truly ready? If we wait until we’re ready we might be waiting forever. Learning to trust ourselves helps us leap into the opportunity to trek into the unknown, and maybe we decide to walk on a healthy path instead of waiting for the next bus.