Be Open Despite the Risk

Despite the risk, and indeed certainty of being hurt, it’s absolutely essential that you put yourself out there. In order to live a good and happy life you must bet on yourself. And this bet requires collateral. For you to become the most fulfilled version of yourself, you have to accept the eventualities of sadness, failure and pain.

For quite a long time I stopped opening myself to the world because I was hurt. And I didn’t want to be hurt again, so I closed myself off. And although no one else was able to hurt me again, I unintentionally hurt myself. I became cut-off, and numb and lonely, and I did this all in the name of protecting myself from hurt.

But this is no way to live. You can’t live in half measures. There is no way to feel the best feelings available to us if we don’t risk feeling the worst feelings on offer. There are no short-cuts or cheat codes. In order to be truly happy you have to risk being truly devastated. And so this means you have to put your heart, and everything else on the line.

This is no easy. It takes bravery, and strength, and courage. And there is no guarantee it will work out. And you will undoubtedly be hurt again before you reach the place you’re looking to go. There is so much at risk, and there are times you will certainly lose, but there is an unquenchable power in people who face unyielding adversity, despite the odds and despite the pain to come.

Because if you have been hurt and have kept walking, there is nothing in this reality which can stop you from moving forward still. There is nothing that can happen to you that you will not endure if you accept suffering as necessary to your journey.

Those who accept hardship and pain as a worthy price to pay will live a beautiful life. And this begins by opening up again. It begins by showing yourself to the world, knowing that you may be rejected, and continuing to do it anyway.

The comfort of positive emotions will stop you from living a full life. The fear of hardship will ensure that you never reach your full potential, and this should be scarier to you than any sort of pain that can come your way.

Drink water,