I bummed into a friend today and I appreciated how very casually she reacted when I told her I am no longer in the cafe business - only after getting my feet wet for 9 months.
I mean, it was probably just me feeling a bit embarrassed stating the very short-lived fact. Me - appearing as if I started out towards a big goal, told the entire world I was all for it, then at the end, I didn't make it to the finishing line.
Guess what. At any given point, I was allowed to change my mind. And I did.
Just because I didn't reach the final goal of running it profitably, it didn’t mean I failed. After all, I was the one who chose the goal in the first place. It was arbitrary and no one could have stopped me from choosing a new goal halfway - and only when I was half way through, did I understand neither failure nor success was a destination I wanted. It was all about making the right decision, at the right time and enjoying the moment and the outcome of being decisive.
But then even though it was pretty darn obvious that making a big change at the seemingly right time seem beneficial and everything to be gained, it was tough making that choice. I did worry. I worried sick that the uncharted territory of the future was too much for me to behold.
And then I have another friend who told me she has started up her own business after god-knows how many years she has been pondering and that she felt absolutely amazingly relieved after she has made that decision. I was so proud she did it and was real glad I constituted towards a tiny fraction of the ability to inspire her - despite my lack of success in running mine.
If there's anyone out there sitting and waiting and totally freaking out in life because you are about to face something huge and unknown - tell you what - you should really be giving yourself more credit than that. I mean what's the worst case scenario that could happen to you? Come on, it ain't that bad and I am sure you have enough courage to trust yourself and crush whatever that is clouding you.
I did it. And it opened doors to something brilliantly amazing. I am so sure it can happen to you too - not if you ain't really giving it a go, there should be no stopping you.
