“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” –Thomas Edison
Sometimes in life we must make hard decisions, and many times we often avoid making these decisions in fear of failure and/or rejection. We wish to accomplish our goals, we wish to make our dreams a reality, but when the rubber meets the road we are too scared to do anything about it. Recently I made one of the biggest decisions I will make in my life…I applied to grad school. I had been speaking back and forth with the administrative assistant who makes sure all the applications are in order and who also organizes the application process. I had completed all of the “hard” paperwork. I took the GRE, completed my resumé, dropped the $50 for my application, received my 3 recommendation letters, but the only thing I was missing was my Statement of Purpose. For weeks, she would ask me when I would finally complete my application, and I would just keep telling her that it would be soon. I was stressed over a stinkin’ 2-page letter explaining myself, my passions, and my reasons for applying. I write weekly articles, and I couldn’t whip out a measly 1,200-word letter about myself!
The anxiety was building up, and I had to step away from myself and just come to terms with what I was about to do. I wanted to get into grad school so bad, that the fear of failure and rejection were getting into my head. What if I didn't get in? Do I need to start looking for a job? I was terrified to complete and submit my full application because that meant that I had officially handed over all of my fear and anxieties to the university and they would have the ability to make the stress go away or intensify. Being vulnerable has to be one of the hardest things that we learn to do as human beings, however, it also is one of the most liberating things that we can do. Not only does it help us understand that we are no longer in control, we also learn to find the trust within ourselves and others.
Well, I took the leap of faith and applied to grad school. Now, the waiting process begins. After I had taken an actual month to write a measly 2-page letter, I was finally relieved. There’s saying that reads “if your dreams don’t scare you, then they aren’t big enough”. I know I’ve probably already mentioned this quote before, but it’s seriously what I live by every day. I was terrified to fail, because it had always been a huge dream of mine to go to grad school and get my Master's. Dreams are meant to scare us. When your dreams are big, that means you trust your capabilities in making them become a reality. Dream big. Set new heights. Accomplish new goals. If there’s anyone who understands that taking a leap of faith is such a scary feeling...it's me. Trust me, I get it. Whether it’s applying to grad school, telling the person you love how you feel about them, interviewing for your dream job, or moving halfway across the country…just do it.
You will never know the outcome of a decision, if you don’t try. What’s the worst thing that can happen…you fail? The greatest blessing about failures is that we can learn what not to do the next time we do indeed succeed. Don’t let the “what-ifs” get in the way of the “I dids”. I want you to go out into the world without fear of the unknown, the fear of failure, or the fear of rejection. When you start to completely trust yourself, and fully embrace your dreams, you will be able to accomplish anything you set your mind to. The next time you are scared to take that huge leap of faith, I want you to imagine what life would be like without fear? Take the leap. Just do it!
