I have always been afraid of the idea of settling with what is safe because I'm scared of what the world might have to offer. Thousands of people live like this, bored with life because they chose what seemed comfortable at the time. I know I do not want to be 86 years old, sitting in my retirement home regretting and dreading the things I did not do and the things I did not see.
In many instances, I hear about people who are unhappy in their relationship or marriage because they chose to stay with someone they were extremely comfortable with and nothing about them no longer excited them, meaning there was no more spark. However, they chose to stay because they were scared of starting the process of getting to know someone else, all over again.They feared rejection and in other words, they feared being alone. I think that's what holds people back a lot, the idea of starting over and not knowing what the future holds.
If you are anything like me, I'm a control freak, and it gives me anxiety not knowing what tomorrow is going to be like. I hate going with the flow, I have to have a set schedule. But I have been learning to let go, I have been letting the nature of things take control. I have learned to trust. You have to trust that life has something better for you because once you accomplish that, leaping into new beginnings comes without hesitations.
Along with settling for things that seem safe, people also often settle for things they think they deserve. This tends to happen when people believe they are not worth more than what they are given. For example, a lot of people tend to sell themselves short and they get caught working a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job they absolutely dread. They pick the job because they believe it's the best they will ever get, and they won't argue for a raise or a bigger office, they just accept things and go on living their normal lives.
If you are caught in this, if you believe what you have now is the best you will ever get… Think again! Life is full of unexpected beautiful things that will fire up the joy inside you, the joy you're supposed to feel. As a college student, I'm so preoccupied with the future that I forget to actually live in the moment, I forget to enjoy the present. In order to not feel like I'm settling, I vow to put myself out there, no matter how scary or terrifying it might be.
I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and trust that there is so much more to life than the rut you are stuck in. Find things that excite you, start a bucket list and start to check things off. Whatever you do, don't settle. No matter what age, we can always find things that will incite the light within us.
