If you are reading this, you most likely are a lot like me… a perfectionist with an insatiable need to do the best of the best in everything you do. We’re the Type A people and the “let me just check my calendar really quick” friend. The ones who if something does not go our way, or if it is not perfect, a tear or two could potentially be shed. And because of this, we feel this immense pressure on ourselves no matter what we do, and there is no convincing us out of it. It’s like a disease we will never be cured of and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it. We will forever be putting pressure on ourselves, and yes, we know, it will be the death of us.

So many people have told me that I need to stop. That I shouldn’t worry so much and I should just have confidence in myself. Trust me, I have tried. The amount of times I have told myself “relax, you’re doing the best you can,” are infinite… but I can’t live like that. I’m not doing the best I can… I can do better. I should be doing better. If I tell myself not to worry about what I do, I will end up not caring at all and doing a worse job than I originally would have. It’s just the way I work, I can’t be carefree, I can’t be relaxed. As much as I want to be it’s not ingrained in me.

But I know, for a fact, that being this way is my biggest flaw and I know it will be the death of me. Because of the weight I place on myself, I cannot move forward, I cannot keep going. People like me need to let the pressure go. It is the only way that we will succeed and the only way we can get to where we want to be. And I have learned how to… at least a little bit.

Although I still put some amount of pressure on myself, since I really can’t function without it… I have learned to let go some. Whether it is with school, sports, and life in general. With my parents and coaches I have learned that letting go is the best way to succeed. By being somewhat carefree, it is easier to act freely, play freely, and live freely. By not worrying about the outcome of whatever you are doing, you can focus and pay more attention to what is you’re doing and do the best you can at it.

I have learned to apply this to everything. Not only sports or school, but to what I do every day. I can’t make myself worry about what will happen if I say this or do that… I just have to do it. I can’t put pressure on myself to have everything and anything right now, because it just will not happen. And I need to be able to let life take me where I’m supposed to go, without worrying about where my destination is.

So, to all the people like me out there… my advice to you is to just let go, live life…. have some fun, it’s worth it.