When life is throwing lemons at you and you were just doing your best with an open heart it is difficult to somehow ‘know’ how to start making lemonade.  This is why so many people fall into their graves with tremendous uncertainty and hold back, regret being a thing that falls on their lips if they are fortunate enough to give death bed confessions that we will later read about on a Buzzfeed list or Upworthy post reminding those of us amongst the Living to do something different.

Some can push through because they have others to think about, or things they fear the consequence of losing if they don’t.  I hate things that are motivated by fear.  I grew up with so much turmoil and fear that it just numbs me rather than motivates me.  I would rather believe in the better, and be motivating by potential rather than shadows.  But in order to stand up and hold your potential and stake your claim you have to do the thing that perhaps you’ve done before (fallen in love, open your heart to someone, started a business) that failed.  Which means in order to keep going and live without regret and do your best potential you have to trust yourself, and trust in the unknown.  The issue being if you are scarred secretly deep down inside you don’t really trust yourself or this planet you are creating in, and so how can you possibly start over again believing that things will be different?

The alternative is to do nothing.  And miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.  And just ‘get by’ with the scraps you allow yourself to have in taking it safe.  And potentially shut out the magic waiting for you behind door #2. Or door #3. Or door #587.  And so the ones with the overthinking, analytical minds (check) and big, sensitive hearts too (check) get bogged down in being aware of each and every little thing which generates the hold back, when to be blissfully ignorant or forgetful would be your greatest gift yet.  Here is where time bends and blurs, because the new day gift that you get each time your eyes open to a day closer to your death isn’t fully yours when it should be.  And so without meaning to you end up playing the role of the reluctant hero of your own story. 

It takes moxy, and guts and inner will to take past hurts and failures and make them into the prologue of success in the story of your life rather than leaving them as hold back as a reluctant hero.  To see these things not as bad things of pain and hurt but as gifts? Very necessary.  And very challenging.