“And in the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take”.
Life is a series of moments, experiences, and choices. We all ultimately have so much more control over where our life goes than we think. In fact, it is all up to us. Each day- from how we think, feel, interact, and experience life…it’s always been, and always will be up to us. Yesterday, in a conversation with one of my best friends, Bianca, she was telling me about a moment in her day where she took a chance on something she was hesitant about. She expressed how empowered and inspired she felt the moment after taking the chance. She felt that she had nothing to lose, but possibly much to gain. She said to me, “You know, I think that is a great approach to life in general”. Yes….
In that moment, I was reminded of something incredibly true that it rings so clearly for all of us, if we choose to look at it. If we do not put ourselves out there for the world, we will be missing out on so many things that life was meant to offer us. Wouldn’t you rather something not work out after taking the leap of faith rather than never even knowing if it could because you never took the chance to begin with? It is much better knowing that you gave something all of your courage, than to keep it bottled up- never knowing, and always wondering.
This reminded me so deeply of a quote that my middle school lacrosse coach read to us on the bus one day:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?….Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you….It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson
Do not play it small in this world. Go big. This is your precious life to live. And if you give yourself permission, you just may let someone else give it to themselves, too.
A Paige From My Book 