Chasing Dreams~

I woke up today to a quote on Instagram that resonated soundly with me. The quote read "Friend, if you can't get over your fear of not doing it as well as they do, you'll never have the opportunity to be a trailblazer for someone else."

This project has been a long time coming and a very slow work in progress. My busy schedule and life are partly to blame, but also to blame is fear. I don't expect this to be a battle that will easily be won, but this was something I needed to hear today. As I'm finding my sea legs to this whole blogging adventure, I can't promise how well I'll do, only that I'll try my best.

One of the main factors on my slow progress is that small voice in the back of my head. Each time I sit down to tackle this project, my brain starts working on overtime. I start thinking of all the things I'd have to do to make it "perfect." And how if it wasn't perfect I shouldn't publish it until it was. I didn't want people to see an incomplete project or something that was a work in progress. Call it the perfectionist in me, but the fear of not being good enough was preventing me from even allowing myself to take that chance.

What was I scared of though? For me, it came down to one thing: Pride. I think everyone holds themselves to some sort of standard. Your pride dictates that you have to at least get an A on your assignment. It dictates that you need to have a job after college. That you need to be successful in what you do. My pride was telling me that if I wanted to go through with this project I had to make it work. I had to make it successful or it wouldn't be worth my time. Most importantly, it was telling me not succeeding was something to be ashamed of.

Seeing the quote today reminded me that, it's ok to be scared. However it's not ok to let fear be what stops you. To everyone reading this, take a chance today. Take a chance with work, with travel, with love! Begin a sentence with "I can" and end it with "I will." And if that's not enough, throw caution to the wind and just jump. You may be surprised at how easy it is to land on both feet. Don’t worry about what other people have to say. Don't worry if you will be successful. All that should matter is if you enjoy doing it and if it makes you happy. If the answer is yes, that should be all the validation you need to pursue your dreams.

I guess what I'm trying to say (to myself and readers) is that, regardless of any insecurities or self doubt you may have about trying something new or pursuing something you have an interest in, you can do it. No it won't be easy and yes it can be scary. (I've almost talked myself out of doing this more times then I can count. In fact right now I'm still considering whether this will ever see the light of day or stay archived on my laptop.) But at the end of the day, if you don't try you'll never know. I apologize if it sounds cliche, but there's a reason you hear it so much. It's true. I could pull the plug on this project right now and never have to worry about if people will care about what I have to say, if this project will even be successful, or if this is just be a big failure waiting to happen. But if I do that, I'll also spend the rest of my life wondering what if? What if I had taken that chance? What if I had pursued my interest and went through with my plan? Bottom line is, sometimes you just have to go out on a limb and believe in yourself. Because sometimes, you can surprise yourself.

Travel by my side as I take you along through my life and around the world.

With love,

Eva