The great thing about the new year is all of the possibility that lies ahead.  Everything that sucked the year before is wiped clean and the slate is fresh and the hope for goals and dreams is grand.  Lists have been drafted and resolutions made.  Even a little over two weeks in, though, I’m sure that I’m not the only one who starts feeling the drop-off from that high, and suddenly find myself feeling just really overwhelmed.

“Success is not final.  Failure is not fatal.  It’s the courage to continue that counts.”  That’s what I try to remind myself.  Sometimes I aim so high that I end up paralyzing myself.  Because I get scared.  But I have to stop and remind myself that life is an adventure.  There’s not a point that you say, “Well, there you go.  I’m a success,” and drop dead the second later.  First of all, that’s depressing.  Second, that also means that failure won’t kill you, and that’s a good thing.  I think it’s human nature to always fear and assume the worst, but for the most part fear lives in an imagined place and only becomes real if you give it the power to be.

Besides, it’s the process of growth that’s intriguing, isn’t it?  I know it is for me.  The only problem is that often growth can feel uncomfortable, lonely, and just plain hard.  You feel like you’re the only one struggling through it all, and everyone else seems to be gliding through life with ease.  But the fact is, everyone struggles, and no one is exempt.

I’m finally coming to accept that life is a series of peaks and valleys, and if it were just peaks all of the time, it would make for really boring scenery anyway.  Seriously, look at me, I had to move back in with my parents at 28.  Is it embarrassing?  Sure it is.  Will I die from that embarrassment?  No.  I can view it as a failure, but even if it was, which it isn’t, I’m still alive.  You can sit and you can worry (which, trust me, I have, a lot) about what people might think or say, but honestly, most people don’t even care or notice.  Most people have enough going on in their own lives.  If they do notice, they don’t really judge you.  Because it’s just life!  People know that.  Things happen and we move on.  When I remind myself of that, instead of feeling daunted and afraid because of my current situation, I start seeing it as a stepping stone, and the possibilities for the future become exciting again.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, be comforted by the fact that you’re not alone.  Every day that you take one step forward is progress, and that takes courage because you’re looking failure in the face and saying no.  And if you fail anyway, just know that there’s always tomorrow, and you can always try again.  Keep the ball rolling, because I’ll be rolling my own right next to you.

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Image via StrikingTruths.com