To put it simply, my head and my heart are often in disagreement with one another. My heart wants to follow every little whim that happens to cross its path, while my head likes to rein it in with something along the lines of "Whoa there, Buddy. That might not end well." While this internal dialogue has proven itself worthy several times, I also feel like it has, upon occasion, prevented me from reaching for my dreams and growing as a person. You see, my head likes to base its decisions of these pesky little things known as "what ifs". What if it goes wrong? What if you fail? What if you get your heart broken? What if it's not what you expected or not what you wanted? I'm not saying these "what ifs" aren't important thoughts to consider when faced with a difficult choice. However, I'm here to remind you of one small, yet vitally important "what if".
What if it goes right?
The thing is, if you never try, you'll never succeed. I think sometimes we are so afraid of failure that we forget that. I'm not saying that you should give into every single whim that catches your fancy, but few great achievements come without great risks as well. It is my strong believe that if you've never made a mistake, you've never truly lived. Some pains are just as brilliant and as necessary as pleasure. How else do we expect to learn?
Don't let the fear of "what if" hold you back in life, because that's no life at all. Take care of yourself and be smart, but don't be afraid to fall. The beautiful thing about people is that we have the remarkable ability to get back up. If there is something you want, go for it. Even if it doesn't turn out how you thought in the long run, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you will never regret not trying.
I've made a pact with myself to no longer live in fear of the "what ifs" that plague me. If I want something, even if the odds seem stacked against me, I'm going to try my best to achieve it. It may not work out in the end, but I'm never going to let that stop me again. Why should we wait for happiness to fall into our laps by chance when we can be taking steps to embrace it head on? Don't let your life pass you by before you've truly lived, because what if it goes right?
