Are we looking for our next exit out of an uncomfortable situation? I think the question should be: When are we not?

For most of us Life has a way of making good choices nearly impossible. We plan to clean our apartments. We plan to get the groceries. We plan to work in the field we’ve studied. But mostly there is a hurdle in the way to everyday life, and that hurdle is our own minds.

Okay. So maybe our minds aren’t stopping us from getting groceries (although I’ve definitely been too lazy to go, even though I had no food in the house) but isn’t it the underlying factor to every decision we make where we choose the safe route. That we stick it out a bit longer until we go for that other job, since the tips at the restaurant are really good right now. We block the success we could have because we are afraid to be left with even less than before. So how do we get out of this cycle of broken dreams and coffee stained blouses from another shift at the local Coffee Shop?

The answer to that is next to impossible to pin down. Whereas some people are born risk takers and have no shame in asking for financial support, I am of a different breed. Rather eating cream cheese out of a carton than ask for help from parents or friends, is probably not the best way to go about in life. Yet here I am struggling with multiple jobs as if I was trying to collect shells on the beach, each one serving a specific purpose. Can I learn to let go and fill my life not only with the worry of failure and go on to live life to its full potential?

The answer to that should be yes, but every time I have to submit an article or read an essay aloud in class, I am terrified of what people may think of me. Because the writing is not just a part of me, it is me. Fully and completely inhabiting me; using me as a vessel to get the story out.

So as I sit at a coffee shop editing, or on my bed writing something completely new, there are always thoughts of insecurity. The only difference to my younger self is that I have learned to acknowledge it and then throw it out the metaphorical window. Even though the doubts and fear are ever present I have not stopped writing. Bravery doesn’t come from the absence of fear, it is our choice to be brave.

So be brave and believe in who you are.

Life may be blocking some roads for you and if your mind gangs up with it, remind it who’s the boss. Don’t let your insecurities stop you from accomplishing your goals, there are always people who will do that for you.