Do not give up on yourself.

"It doesn't matter how slowly you go---so long as you do not stop." ~ Confucius 

If you're a dream chaser, hard worker, creative soul, or success addict, you can probably relate to the feeling of pushing and striving and constantly wondering if you should or could be doing more to reach your "destination." 

First of all, I'm finally starting to realize that there never really is a "destination" or an end point. We create a vision of what we think the finish line should look like, when in reality, there is no finish line. It's all about the journey and learning as we go along. 

We have no way of knowing where our efforts will lead, and that tends to create oodles of anxiety---at least, that's usually the case for me. 

"Following your dreams is the scariest thing in the world, and that's why a lot of people don't do it." ~ Christina Perri

When you have a dream or a vision, you usually have an intense instinct to cling to it for dear life, fearfully wondering how everything would pan out if you were to let go and follow that dream---and the path ahead can look extremely daunting.

Again, maybe that's just me. 

Lately, a lot of thoughts have been running through my mind. These are just a few of them:

I have no idea what I'm doing.

I don't have a plan B. If my efforts go to hell, I'll be living in a cardboard box for the rest of my life, wondering why the universe hates me. 

How the hell am I going to make money? 

Everyone will laugh at me and tell me to grow up and get a real job.  

I should be doing more. I should be working harder. 

You might be wondering what my dream is. To be honest, I often wonder the same thing. I don't have everything mapped out, and I could write a book on all of the things I still need to learn and figure out. 

I often feel that I'm moving too slowly. I feel like there's an imbalance between planning and taking action. Maybe you can relate to that feeling.

I should be doing more. I should be working harder. 

Yesterday, the quote at the top of this post randomly popped in my head. And after it did, I realized that I wasn't being fair to myself. I do something every day to push myself closer to my goal (whatever that goal is). Every day, I take a step---even if it's just a baby step. There are days when I do more, and there are days when I do less. Either way, I still do SOMETHING. And if I take the time to look back to where I started and compare it to where I am now, I've come pretty damn far. 

So I might be feeling a little stuck right now. I might be taking my time. I might be over-planning and over-thinking. I might be at a fork in the road. I might be mildly terrified. 

But I have no intention of giving up. And looking back on all of the things I so easily gave up on in the past, that is a pretty big accomplishment in itself. 

<3 Madison