Have you ever touched a stove and after realizing it is hot, pulled your hand away? And every time after that you associate the stove with pain, and therefore, avoid putting your hand near the stove?
The human brain is a marvelous thing. The more it tells itself one thing, the more it believes it, understands it, or fears it.
Take heartbreak for example. You fall in love, only to be beaten and broken inside. You try falling in love again, same outcome. The more you try to allow yourself to fall for someone the more your brain says, “No, I know what happens next.”
How can we fix this you ask? Simple.
Instead of avoiding the things that cause pain, heartbreak, confusion or whatever the stimulation or outcome may be, face those challenges head on.
Cook on the stove and be smart enough to know when the stove has become unsafe to touch. Meet a boy and have expectations, if he doesn't show signs of potential, notice that and move yourself along before allowing him in to begin with.
Life is not out to get us. It wants us on its side. It wants us to be fearless and take chances knowing that whatever the outcome may be, we will be okay. It knows we are going to mess up and fail time and time again. But the beauty of it is, our brains are so smart, we learn.
As children learning to walk, we fell. Every time we stood up, we fell. If our brains did not know that falling was a natural occurrence when learning to walk, we would all still be crawling.
We are all learning, every second of everyday. Have the strength and courage to notice when the stove is hot and not touch it because we have learned not to, not because we are afraid of it.
Don't be afraid to live. Be afraid to not learn.
