You Must Allow Yourself To Be Bold In Creating The Life You Want

Here’s the truth.

Your life is short. You’re not happy. You lie to yourself when you say you can heal yourself in just a couple of weeks. You think that comfort is all that matters, so you feel guilty for wanting more, for desiring a full-on flame to light your soul on fire. You feel like you’re missing something. You can’t deny these things, but you feel ashamed, so you wrestle with your inner self. All day and all night.

You have big dreams, but people say that you’ll never make it. They laugh at you like you’re a fool and a silly, naïve child who doesn’t understand the hardships of the world. They’re always quick to remind you that the world is a cruel place for those who don’t play by the rules. They snap at you and tell you to get over it.

Or worse, they judge you for being shallow, for doing it just “for the money and fame,” or possibly for getting back at those who ostracized you in the past. They make cynical assumptions about your motivations, and it kills you inside because you know you are true to who you are and you’re driven by the deepest and most honest place in your heart.

You dream because you can envision a life that’s bold, beautiful, and far more extraordinary than anyone else can imagine. To you, there’s nothing worse than being crippled with regret on your deathbed, dying from an average life that you didn’t even want but realizing that it’s too late to change anything.

But they’re wrong because deep inside, all you ever wanted was a life where you can be yourself and do all the things that make your heart come alive. No matter how genuine you are, people aren’t buying it. They tell you to grow up, to be more mature, to take on responsibilities that everyone’s obligated to do. They accuse you of having pipe dreams and tell you that you need to be more humble and by their definition, being humble means killing your big imagination and settling for a mundane life.

They want you stop dreaming and start becoming good at what you hate because in their eyes, you’re only worth as much as your output. You’re only worth something if you conform and be used as a means to an end, whether you like it or not. If you’re struggling to get by because you’ve been holding back on your dreams, they still blame you for being lazy, even when your body is overworked and your spirit is weary from catering to people who are so insensitive and indifferent to everything that makes you a distinct individual with something remarkable to offer to the world.

I know you dream boldly because you know what it’s like to suffer and not be loved for who you are, and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to create a wholesome life that you’ve always dreamed of building with your own two hands. But you’re beaten and so afraid of venturing beyond the unknown because people accuse you of being entitled. Of being selfish. Of being lazy and unproductive. Of lacking character. Of not being equipped enough to handle disappointments. So you remain paralyzed. You give up too easily because you want to please others and you worry too much about coming across as narcissistic.

But you’re not narcissistic. You’re none of the horrible things that people accuse you of being just because you dare to be different and dream boldly. You desire a future without any bounds. You want to make the world a better place and also give an outpouring of love for those who haven’t been loved enough. You want to create beautiful masterpieces, both big and small, and make someone else feel understood and valued. You want to be honest with yourself and not hide behind labels or put yourself in boxes you can’t breathe in. You want to love yourself enough and devote your entire life to something you actually care about.

No one can stop you from pursuing a life you genuinely desire. You don’t need their approval or permission to start the fires you’ve been smothering deep within your restless bones for so long.

I know it’s going to take longer than you expect, but that doesn’t mean you need to be discouraged. The road will be long, dreary, and full of sorrow. Some days, you won’t see the light. Not many will follow you, and sometimes you’ll question yourself and doubt the spirit within you because of the unrelenting opposition you face. You’ll have to be prepared. But as long as you’re doing what’s right for you, it’ll be so worth it, I promise.

Remember, it’s always worth it to create your own wonderful destiny than to have a disappointing one handed to you. If you don’t step out of the norm, that’s what’s going to happen, and nothing’s more terrifying than being driven from point A to point B to death without ever being the navigator of your own life.

If you’re hesitant to start, imagine yourself living exactly the same way as you’re living today for the rest of your life. Now imagine yourself on your deathbed looking back on your life. Don’t lie and say you’ll be satisfied with how much you’ve allowed your dreams to shrivel up and die. Don’t lie and claim that “it’s for the best,” because in the end, the people you’re trying so hard to please won’t even hold your hand on your death day and they won’t even show up to your funeral. They’ll just think you’re a forgettable failure with a pathetic life story. They won’t care about how exhausted you were from working overtime. They won’t care if you struggled to make ends meet. They won’t care about how much you’ve bent over backwards for society and had no time for yourself. They won’t care about how much you had to sacrifice to conform and settle for less.

This isn’t what you want. You can do better. You can do greater things. You choose to live for yourself instead of being less than what you are and groveling for attention in a society that will never love you back. Because the only person who can love you in the way you want to be loved is yourself. And you deserve to live in a way that reflects that.

So go forth, be bold.

Be free.