I have come to two conclusions- First, that I really have a lot to learn, and second, that discovering yourself can be really hard.
What do I mean by this? What I mean is that we learn best in times of hardship. How many times have we learned important life lessons by staying home or playing it safe?
In my experience? Never!
The only time that I learn about myself, is when I’m forced to think out of the box and push myself to do great things.
Through this, I have learned something about myself- I work best when I have some kind of deadline, or I’m under pressure.
Would I have ever learned that if I hadn’t found myself in those positions of hard work, stress, and sleepless nights? Probably not.
That leads to another thing I discovered about myself- fear is terrifying. That sounds cliche and circular in reasoning, but everyone deals with fear differently. I was the type that simply avoided the instances that would inspire fear. It was something I simply could not deal with.
Then I decided not to let fear limit me. Obviously, this has to be done with tact. You can’t just jump into a pool of sharks because they scare you, but I have stage fright. This is remarkably limiting. It was only once I decided to not let it stop me that I got my first solo in choir. It is only once I decided to not let it stop me being a storyteller, or a public speaker.
I am not saying that I eliminated the fear- it is still there. But I have discovered in myself, an ability to work past the fear and do wonderful things.
So what is the point here? Push yourself. Learn about yourself. You will be amazed what lessons you can learn, just by challenging your own expectations in life.
Written by: Aimee Cash
Edited by: Wahida Ifat
