Do you ever wonder what it’s going to feel like at the end of your life?
Not in a dark way – but in that quiet, honest moment when you look back and ask yourself:
“Did I really live at my full potential? Did I create the life I was meant for, or did I let fear decide for me?”
There was a time in my life when I kept telling myself, “One day. Someday. When the timing’s better. When I know more. When I’m more confident. When I’m not so busy.”
Truthfully? I wouldn’t have admitted it to myself – but I was afraid.
Afraid of failing. Afraid of what others would think. Afraid that I wasn’t enough to actually become the version of myself that I dreamed about.
So instead, I built convincing stories for myself about why I couldn’t go after what I truly wanted – and I chose to believe them.
For years, I put my dreams last – to avoid the fear. And every time I did, a small part of me quietly died.
Then, one day, something happened…
It was simple really. I imagined being 80 years old, without having changed and I asked myself some questions…
“When I look back on my life, am I proud of the choices I made? Do I have regrets?”
Can I say: “Yes, I lived my life fully, bravely – and how I dreamed I would”?
And the honest answer was… no.
That one moment created the leverage I needed – it was the turning point, if you like…
Those thoughts moved me to action like no other.
I didn’t suddenly become fearless – but I did become driven – and unwilling to stay stuck in that lesser version of myself any more.
So I took action – moving toward what lit me every day.
The amazing thing? Every step forward…. every action (even every failure) helped me learn something new and see myself differently.
I saw that I could become someone I was proud of – and not even because of success or achievement – but because I was finally honouring who I really was.
👉🏼 And here’s the truth:
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve waited. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve stopped and started.
What matters is that you begin… and you keep going.
Most times we give up just as we could have broken through. I know – I had lived life like that for years. Stopping every time the fear got too much.
But we only fail if we stop trying and thats a profound lesson to learn.
Fear is actually a good thing – it shows we are actually moving and growing… becoming more of the person we deep down long to be. Failure isn’t to be feared – it’s to be celebrated – as we move forward.
So let’s do something today that our 80 year old self will thank us for.
Let’s make a real decision to live fully – maybe even to take a chance that we may fail – and embrace it all!
We get one life – so let’s live a life we can be proud of.
The time will go by regardless of what you choose and your 80 year old self will look back whatever you do – so why not let her have the opportunity to do so with a wink and a smile.
Claire
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