“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart.

Imagine a young girl who preferred to blend in rather than stand out. She was too timid and too scared to do things that brought attention to her. The words she breathed merely existed to agree with others and nothing more. Soon, she grew up. Though she did not bother to change her ways, she smiled at life. However, regret soon caught up to her. She began to wish she did more. All of those missed opportunities—gone. Every night, she watched her memories play over and over in her head. She whispered to herself, “If I said this, I would have been better at this. If I had done this, I could have been one step closer to achieving my dreams. If only I was not so scared.” She knew it was still not too late and there was always time to work towards her dream, but fear controlled her.

Although I’m not sure how realistic it is, that is how I used to envision my future. The fear I had of embarrassing myself and being judged prevented me from doing so many things I dreamed of doing. And that fear is not gone. It is still here, eating me up—I can just manage it better. If you embrace challenges and take risks, your world will be more alive. Many people have left or are leaving positive changes in the world because they took risks.

SMALL STEPS TOWARD GROWTH

Develop a growth mindset. The way you think plays a huge role in the choices you make. Know that it is possible to improve or learn skills and abilities with dedication, effort, and time. Talent is not always something you are born with or naturally have.

Make mistakes. In school, we learn mistakes are bad. We are taught to do things correctly, step-by-step. We don’t like to get poor grades or bad feedback from our teachers—we don’t like to fail. But always remind yourself that mistakes are okay. Think of failure as a wobbling baby that will grow up into something larger and stronger: success. Failure is necessary—it’s the start of your journey. It tells you what you need to work on, need to do less of, and need to change. To this day, I am still struggling with this. I fail all the time. I repeatedly make mistakes, lose contests, and embarrass myself whenever I socialize. Sometimes, I become so frustrated with being me that I cry. But I know that failure is a part of growth.

The most important thing is to act. I like to take a deep breath, count to five, and just do it. More often than not, what you dread always ends up being better than you thought. And the benefits outweigh the negatives: better self-esteem, greater confidence, more opportunities, new skills, and a brighter version of yourself and your future. As my dad tells me, “Aim to be a better person each day.”

Sincerely, Wordynora.