Over the weekend, a tragic helicopter accident killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers. The full list of victims includes Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; friends of the Bryant family: John, Keri, and Alyssa Altobelli; Sarah and daughter Payton Chester, teammates of Gianna; their basketball coach, Christina Mauser; and pilot Ara Zobayan. Bryant was on his way to coach Gianna's basketball team, The Lady Mambas, in Thousand Oaks, California.
There seems to be a recurring motif around his death: "he was so young," and "life is too short." After hearing this same rhetoric all week, I decided to write this one simple plea: don't wait for someone to die to make a change in yourself.
Too often we spend our time thinking about the "what-ifs" in life. What if I had pursued my dream to play in a band? What if I asked out that person I am interested in? What if I quit my job tomorrow? Those what-ifs get pushed aside to make room for the typical daily grind, and they return to daydreams. When a tragedy like this strikes, those what-ifs come back. If something were to happen tomorrow, would you be able to say you've satisfied those what-ifs?
Instead of thinking "what could go wrong," instead ask yourself, "what if things go well?"
Anytime I need inspiration, I go back to the wise words of Shia Lebouf's weird and wild inspirational speech: JUST DO IT, MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE youtu.be
My recommendation is if there is something you want to do, do it today. The fact is that there will never be the right time for you to chase your dreams. Dreams happen in the downtime of our daily grind, and it is on us to materialize those dreams. I encourage you to think about what you have always dreamed of doing and think about how you can take the steps to make it a reality.
Oh, and do it today. Don't wait. You never know what the future holds for us.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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