Your timeline is going to look different than your friends and parents and peers. You’re not going to reach milestones at the same moment in time, so there’s no sense in comparing. You’ll reach some markers faster than others, and some markers slower than others. That doesn’t make you any better or worse than your competition. It simply means that you’re on different paths. But you can still reach the same destination. There’s enough success to go around, so their wins aren’t your losses.
Reaching success requires hard work. You’re going to have to put effort in every single day – but that doesn’t mean you have to kill yourself. Baby steps are still going to get you where you want to go, so don’t get impatient. Doing a little bit every single day is going to add up over time and help you develop positive work habits. After all, it’s better to do something right than to rush through it and make mistakes that could have been avoided. Take your time. You’re not going to reach success overnight by burning yourself out.
Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone faces rejection. Everyone fails. The difference between people who reach success and people who don’t is whether they give up or keep going. You should never quit on your dreams. If you want this, then keep at it. It’s not going to be easy, but your determination and persistence is going to give you an edge. So don’t let your failure slow you down. Let it teach you. Learn from what you’ve done wrong and try your best to do better in the future.
If you decide your old dreams don’t fit the new you, then you’re allowed to switch paths. You don’t have to stick with something you hate in order to make your past self proud. Focus on your current self instead. What do you want? What would make you feel fulfilled? Don’t keep doing the same thing you’ve always done out of habit. Take some time to ask yourself whether you’re actually enjoying it, whether you should keep moving forward or change directions.
You need to believe in yourself. You need to trust that you’re doing the right thing and that your hard work is going to pay off eventually. It’s natural to have insecurities and doubts about yourself, but you need to overcome them. You need to push them aside so they don’t stop you from chasing after your big dreams. You’re your own biggest critic. Don’t get in your own way.
Some progress is invisible, so you might be accomplishing more than you realize. Even though you might not be seeing the results you want yet, that doesn’t mean that all of your hard work has been useless. Putting effort into something you love is never a waste of time. Besides, nothing might happen for a while and then things might start moving quickly out of nowhere. You never know what’s waiting for you.
