I've always considered myself a fairly determined individual. Whenever I set a goal to accomplish, whether that be a good grade on a test or performing well at my jobs, I will commit myself to that goal and follow it through to fruition.

Well, usually.

I've come to discover that as your goals and aspirations get bigger, so do the number of obstacles in your way. Remembering to floss every day is usually met with less resistance than trying to lose twenty pounds, for example. As of recently, this is starting to become more and more apparent. With my college years coming to a close and the real world looming right around the corner, it's time for me to begin realizing my life and career goals. However, believe it or not, attaining your life's dreams isn't all that easy (weird, right?). Life has a way of making things, well, interesting to say the least. There will be times where it seems like nothing can go wrong and the only thing separating you and your dreams is just a short wait. Other times, however, it'll feel like the whole world is conspiring against you. In fact, most of the time it'll seem as though every possible thing that can go wrong for you does exactly that. This has been happening to me a fair amount recently. My future goals and dreams seem to stretch further and further out of my grasps every week. I'll overcome one challenge just to be met with a hundred more. It's almost like climbing over a wall, only to find an even higher one behind it. Admittedly, there have been times when I felt completely overwhelmed. It's gotten to the point where I've had to stop and ask myself if doing all this work was really going to be worth it.

There's plenty of other routes to take.

There's always other things to do with your life.

Not everyone can have exactly what they want in life.

There's nothing wrong with settling.

Sometimes, you'll find that this way of thinking can be the most difficult thing to overcome. Believe me when I tell you that this is nothing but poison to your mind. Letting these thoughts of giving up enter your head are the last thing you need. At times, the challenges that your chosen path will present you will seem insurmountable. Those poisonous thoughts of quitting and giving up will begin to grow slowly in the back of your mind. One day soon, if you haven't come across it already, you'll find what seems like a ten-mile-high mountain that'll stand between you and your goals. Let me be the first to tell you that it's more than enough to make you think about calling it quits. However, it's at this point where you have to stand your strongest. It's at this point where you have to throw away all that doubt and uncertainty, and just start climbing it.

Now, I'm not saying that you're going to overcome all your obstacles the first time you take them on. Trust me when I say that you're going to fail. In fact, you'll probably fail a lot more than you'll expect to. That's exactly what these obstacles in life like to do to us though. They like to beat us down and take out our drive to go on. I've found that, however, it's not truly a failure unless you give up and let it get the best of you. There is no challenge that you'll face in your life that you will not able to overcome. It may take more than a few tries, but I assure you if it's something you desperately want and you're willing to put the work in for it, you can accomplish it.

We all get one life here. Why would ever choose to do with it anything else than exactly what we want to do? Why let someone tell you that you can't have what you want because it's impossible? It's your dream, not theirs. Who cares what they think. And so what if you fall? You can always pick yourself back up and try again until you get it. There are always blocks in the road and sometimes even mountains that'll stand in your way. Just remember, though, that there will never be anything too great or too colossal that you can't take down with persistence, discipline, some good ole' elbow grease.