Good morning my dearest readers,
Life is full of “what if’s”; an inevitable consequence of all the unknowns and uncertainties that we encounter each and every day of our lives. We never truly know what the next moment, day or even year holds. This notion both presents us with endless potential and possibilities for the future but can also be daunting and even frustrating at times. The future can, to a certain extent, be impacted by the choices we make and actions we take in the present…the control we have over the future however is in a way equally limited by all the unknown variables, parameters and unexpected turns of life.
Despite having to come to terms with the inevitable presence of uncertainty, unknowns and essentially “what if’s” of life, we do have the power to dictate the way we handle this unpredictability.
We are all too guilty of quickly reverting to thinking of the worst possible outcome…”what if I fail?”…”what if I’m wrong?”…”what if I lose?”…”what if I fall?”. Perhaps it feels safer to think this way; after all, if we set ourselves up for lower expectations then we can never in fact be utterly disappointed. Is it simply a “glass half full vs. half empty” sort of matter or does it remind us of our vulnerable side in a world full of chances to be taken with unknown results and conclusions? I believe it is a bit of both and so much more.
What if instead we were to funnel all this unpredictability towards a focus on all the beautiful and exciting potential that the future has to hold? What if we began each chance that we take with thoughts such as “what if I succeed?”…”what if this works?”…”what if I love this?”…”what if I fly?”.
If we really think about it, every single chance we take carries a certain level of uncertainty. If you choose to take the chance and see where it takes you then you owe it to yourself to expect the best possible outcomes. Not everything we do in life will turn out as expected but there is no harm in setting off on a journey, adventure or dream with positive and high expectations.
The following words by Erin Hanson inspired this post …the juxtaposition of failure in “what if I fall?” with the potential for soaring to great heights with “what if you fly?” is beautiful, brilliant and so simply, yet eloquently, put.
My dearest readers, think of the amazing potential you have within yourselves. Do not sabotage that strength by letting fear stop you from taking a chance on life. Where there is potential to fail there is potential to succeed. Where there is potential to not like something there is potential to absolutely fall in love with it. Where there is potential to “fall” there is this amazing and beautiful potential to not only fly but “soar”.
There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”
~Erin Hanson
positively profession-elle 