encouragement

i'm beginning to learn how important it is to believe in oneself. how many of our failures are actually self-fulling prophesies because we didn't believe we can do it and didn't give it our best? how often do we let people's discouragement get to us and yet brush off other people's encouragement? i'm just realizing how much of my life is driven by fear and precaution, by sticking with what's safe. sometimes that involves following other people's footsteps. what would it be like if i had full confidence and just ventured into the unknown on my own?

i'm not just referring to failure and success in terms of my future career. i want this to apply to every aspect of my life. i want to take more risks! but not in the trying drugs or be a badass kinda way. i want to foster my interests in things outside of my bubble, invest myself in causes in the world that i feel curious and could be passionate about. when it comes to people, i want to be more vulnerable, more bold, and not care about other's judgments as much. sometimes i can be more socially self-conscious than i like to admit that, but screw that! also i do want to feel the oomph to pursue this medical career with full determination and focus.