I don’t know why I’m here. But I do know it isn’t by accident.

I don’t know where I’m going, but I do know some day it won’t be here.

Our presence provides us the tools for navigation. We can’t direct if we don’t know where we are, and if we don’t have a sense of experience, it’s hard to create a reference to establish our growth. The relativity of life is like the undercurrent of the ocean, we can all see the same things but experience them quite differently. We can take the risk of learning to swim in the deeper waters or continue to splash at the shoreline in gluttony.

Sometimes it’s better to live with your own consequences than beside someone else’s success’s.

The best part of anyone’s journey is the time between each step of you navigating it. These are the brief moments of reflection, presence, that we all find fleeting. As we travel along, the steps become bigger but intervals between seem evasive, we never lose sight of what’s ahead, but often become oblivious to what’s in front. The trappings of anticipation knock us off our rhythm; the bitterness of regret envelopes our optimism, suffocating our desire to press on.

You’ve failed. So what. Earn your progress and own your outcomes, this moment has just begun.

Failure is more of a perception than an outcome. While there are tangible components of failure, the way in which you value what’s been lost forms the way you view the impact. The underlying component of failure is pride and ego. In other words, we often worry more about others opinion or perception of our shortcomings as being more damaging than the outcome itself. Being prideful or egotistical during times of strife makes the barriers appear bigger than they really are. Trying to blunt what we feel for the sake of preserving some level of social equity is only compromising our opportunity to leverage it.

When we feel, we remember.

There is no wrong emotion, just improper expression. The hardships, failures, and all of life’s turbulence are what ultimately manifest the bedrock we form from. It’s during these times we’re hypervigilant to be present. We have a sense of urgency from the catalyst provided by loss, and we’re much more diligent of our interactions along the way. Failure provokes consciousness, and consciousness opens the opportunity to feel.

I’m the best I’ve ever been, looking forward to the best I’ll ever be.

I’m overwhelmed in doubt, but have not an ounce of flinch.

I will come up short, but will never quit.

I’m prone to pain, it reminds me I’m alive.

I’ll never be perfect, but I’ll never stop my pursuit towards it.

I will fail, I will not break.

I will fail, it will not define me.

When I fail, I will form.