There’s an occurrence that happens in everyone’s life at least once where you’re headed down your own path and come upon a fork in the road. Two options that you have to choose from to continue down your path of life. Odds are it isn’t the first, and I can guarantee that it won’t be the last, but it’s a pivotal decision when you come to it. It’s undeniable, because you have to pick because there is no option to keep continuing the way you are. But, hear me when I say that while the decisions vary between each other, they each have their pros and cons about them, and most of the time one option is safe while the other is dangerous. Think for example, staying in the job you can remain in until you retire or, taking a leap of faith and quitting to pursue your dream, whatever that may be.
These forks in the road will always require sacrifice. Sometimes these sacrifices are things you’re not ready to let go of. And to be quite honest, sometimes you never actually let them go, you just make your way down one path over the other, and make yourself realize that what was on the other path is gone and will never have to chance to come to fruition ever again.
Most commonly, these decisions pan out to be dreams vs reality. You have option A, where you let reality settle in, and you forget about what you ever dreamed of doing, because you can’t fathom sacrificing the easy and steady life you’re living, no matter how unfulfilling it may be. Or B, you leave everything you know and escape your reality to hopefully achieve what you always wanted, at the risk of failing and possibly having nothing. I’m sure many have run into this fork before and had to make a decision. And I’m sure that there are a lot of people content with the steadiness, reliability, and lack of work that reality requires. But, I’m not so sure that those people know that they could have very well been in the same spot they are now regardless of what they chose, by unknowingly eliminating “CHANCE”.
The fact is, reality will never stop coming after you. It doesn’t matter how old you get, or how long you fight it off, it will find you and hit you square in the face like a brick. It’s inevitable. So when you take the easy road and just settle for reality and what you deem “normal”, you’re making it easier for reality to catch you. If you go after it and fail, you’ll be right back where you are right now because your work and life experience doesn’t doesn’t lose value, your degrees don’t vanish, and you’re connections don’t disappear. This life you’re living will be readily attainable when you get back if you fail. So don’t sit around thinking “What if?”.
Take a chance. Take the hard road. Pursue your dreams and exhaust every option you have. Leave no stone unturned when it comes to your dream or what you feel your life should look like. Life is full of people who were one shot away from attaining their ultimate goal, but will never know because they decided to succumb to the notion that reality was as good as it was supposed to be for them.
You can always make more money. And there’s a good chance you’ll lose or spend most of the money you’re trying to hold onto. But, you’ll never get to seize an opportunity again, you’ll never experience that event again, you might not ever be able to see that person again, and you may not ever get to realize a dream if you just settle for what’s “easy”. Fight for what you want to be, fight for who you want to be with, and listen to your heart and your gut over what society says when it comes to what you’re supposed to do. Reality and mediocrity will always be waiting for you when the time comes, but the big moments, the dream opportunities, and the long lasting relationships will pass you by in the blink of an eye. Don’t let it.