I was 9 years old when my idea landed in my brain
I’ve obsessed about it ever since
Eyes on the prize as they say
Focused, committed, diligent
Looking to the light at the end of the tunnel with longing
Fantasizing about how wonderful it will be
I’ve been to 3 Olympics
I became an Olympic Medalist
And every achievement was wonderful
I’ve also had many failures and disappointments
But can I tell you a secret?
Can I tell you what I’ve learned in getting my hearts desires and getting my heart broken?
The best part of it all was the journey…
Thats the things that made it all worthwhile
The greatest gift for me has been the deep dive into myself
The exploration
Surprising myself
Learning
Unlearning
Facing my fears
Taking risks
…realizing that I’m stronger and more powerful than my wildest dreams
Not because I achieved anything
But because I will willing to step into the arena
I dared to go for it…
When my idea came calling like a singing siren
I listened
So here’s the thing
I can’t promise you if you take a risk, face your fears, take a leap of faith
That’ll you’ll get that big thing that you want at the end
But thats not the point…
What I can promise you is that through the process you will be transformed
You will be a different human being on the other side than when you began
So if you’re sitting at the end of your journey
And you didn’t get the thing you wanted
If you feel like you’ve failed and came up short
If your heart aches at the loss of a dream
Here’s what I’d like to say…
The achievement
The light at the end of the tunnel
…its just the sprinkles
But you still have a whole sundae
And I get it…sprinkles are delicious, but not necessary
I pray you enjoy your sundae
You spent time…
Put in so much effort
And you built something absolutely beautiful
You ventured places you could only dream of
You dived into the depths of your self and uncovered parts previously unknown
You tacked on new things to your arsenal
You filled your toolbox
You bloomed and bear fruit
You filled every corner on the canvas in front you with yourself
Quite honestly its a masterpiece…
And I get it…
It doesn’t look like the painting you had in your dreams
But its a masterpiece all the same
I pray you don’t let your idea of how it was supposed to turn out
Rob you of everything you built
Rob you of things you’ve gained
I pray you don’t let your idea of success
Rob you of the parts of yourself you’ve discovered
Rob you of the pride and enjoyment you deserve
To hold the qualities of yourself hostage to some outcome is to do yourself a great disservice
You worked hard to uncover those aspects of yourself
I pray you let them roam free
Its okay to be sad and grieve losing your idea that you walked with for so long
That you obsessed over
But just know that you can hold both joy and pain in the same hand
And when that next idea comes calling like a singing siren
Because it will
I pray you have the courage to pour yourself into it fully
I hope you’re curious about what else you may discover
I hope you’re willing to venture into the unknown