EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

– Mark Twain

I came across this quote from Mark Twain this morning. It really resonated with me because I began to think about my life, my choices, and my future. Most of us have become comfortable with our life whether it's good or bad and embraced the thought of, “this is my life, I have got everything, a lovely wife or a husband, beautiful kids, a good lifestyle and there really isn't much I can do about it.” The truth is the ONE thing that stops every one of us from achieving greatness is FEAR. It affects everyone of us. But when was the last time we stopped to really analyze our fears?

Not only to see what they are but also to see what they stop us from becoming.

How many opportunities do we miss by avoiding things we’re afraid of?

The reality is we’ll never know. There could be life-changing jobs, friendships and business connections, just waiting to be taken or formed.

It has the ability to infect our minds, sneak its way into our everyday language, and consume all of our thoughts , if we let it. And that’s the scary side effect of letting fear control our lives. We never know what we’re truly capable of achieving. I've battled with this myself, and I often stop myself from doing things because it feels unsafe. We can’t let our fears stop us like this, if we want to achieve at the highest level. Instead use it as fuel to keep moving. We risk years of regret, what-ifs, and what-should-have-dones by giving fear the keys and letting it decide our ultimate destination.

Do I regret not doing certain things? Of course I do, and the simple question to ask yourself would be, if you could go back in time, what would you change?

I bet the answer for most of us would be there are lots of things we would love to change! But if we ask that question of ourselves, which things will we have wished we had done?

No matter how fearful we might be, we never improve by continuously consuming information alone. You have to go out in the world and try things.

So, throw off a few bowlines today and venture into the unknown. Travel. Explore. Dream. Discover. Live your life in a way that you won't regret. I guarantee that any mistakes you make along the way will be better than not taking the chance at all.

Thanks for reading!

Photo of me was taken at Maligne Lake in Jasper Canada. Photo credit to @sevenstars.