You can do it!

I can

I have had key moments in my life where I have feared to try.  I believe it is because if I tried it meant I had to be vulnerable to the risk of failure. I think this fear starts with what I think it means to try.

My try has always focused on some end-point, product or finish line that feels impossible. Ideas like successful, perfect or even good enough, loomed over me. I have frequently fought lingering doubts about my ability to achieve any of those ideals.  Added to those doubts was the fear of failing so I was left to wonder why I should even start?

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I am beginning to realize that those ideals that I see as the finish line are all a mirage. There is no finish line, only the choice of whether or not to race. My only competitor is the fear that wants me to focus on an unattainable ideal, wants me to doubt my abilities, and wants me to avoid trying, because the only true way for me to lose is to not start the race at all. As soon as I begin I have already won.  It is expected that I will likely get tired or discouraged and stumble along the way.  I continue to win by moving forward and refusing to give up. I am not racing against anybody else and my success is not measured through a comparison of others, but by a willingness to strive towards reaching my full potential. Today I can get in the race and take the first step toward that end.