It's not going to happen overnight.
Life is a journey, and success takes longer to achieve than most people realize. Too often, we grow impatient with life. We ask life to give us things we aren't yet ready for—things we don't yet deserve. When we aren't given everything we think we want, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of victimhood. It's easy to write ourselves depressing narratives about our lives, because we live in a judgmental world. Let me tell you something. I didn't finish high school or college, but I've never let that define me. I've had relationships that failed, and while it truly hurt when those people exited my life, I haven't let those relationships define me either. I haven't said to myself, "I'll never be successful," or, "I'll never find love again." Instead of reinforcing the victim mentality society shoved down my throat, I put in the work to prove everyone wrong—including myself.
You have to put in the work.
You have to put in the work, and you're going to have to keep putting in the work, because growth takes time. It's impossible to touch the summit of a mountain when you've barely gotten out of your car and begun hiking. Why would life be any different?
At the beginning, touching that peak is going to feel impossible. In fact, it will be. However, that's only stage one. During the second stage, you'll have already hikes for miles. Because of that, you'll have taught yourself that you can hike. Once you understand that, you'll understand that you have the ability to reach the top. All you have to do is what you've been doing. The third stage is living the impossible—touching the peak. During the third stage, you'll look down at the peak you just conquered and feel immense gratitude, not only for the view, but for the work you put in. At the top of the mountain, you'll have more than a view—you'll also have strength, faith, discipline, and the growth mindset you'll need to hike other mountains.
It's time to move from "I can't" to "what if I did?" From there, you can continue moving—from "I'm really doing this" to "this is more than I thought I ever thought I was capable of." It's time to transform yourself from the sum of your limitations, comfort zones, and fears into a culmination of everything you once thought was impossible. It's time to reach new heights, and that journey begins with a single step.
It all starts with you.
