Letter to Myself

Sometimes I find myself wondering what my purpose is in this lifetime. Sometimes I feel like I have no purpose at all simply because I just haven’t discovered it yet. It can be frustrating and make me just want to fast forward to find out what that purpose is. But I know that that’s just too….too easy and well just isn’t possible at all, It’s meant to be a journey that is full of lessons, happiness, sadness, love, and tragedy. That’s life and there is nothing that I or anyone for that matter can do about it aside from just roll with the punches…

I’m not here to tell you to love yourself and that everything is going to be okay you already know that. But despite knowing it, you still feel shitty. I’m here to tell you to stop pouting. Think the world fucked you over? Good. I’m here to tell you to wipe those tears off. It’s time to toughen up. That’s not to say you’re not already tough or that what you’re feeling is not normal. But you’ve worried enough. You’ve regretted enough. You’ve felt scared enough. It’s time for a change. Things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would. Face it. There’s nothing you can do about it at this point, so stop stressing over the things you can’t change.

Yes, you probably should’ve done some things differently – but you didn’t. You, me or nobody will hit life as hard. But it isn’t about how hard we get hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. Think about that for a moment; everyone can throw punches from a position of strength. It’s easy to keep a positive mind and keep on hustling when you’re in power. But when your chips are down, when you’re shit out of luck, broke, beaten, and battered, your mind easily warps in an opposite direction. If it were easy, everybody would do it. It’s easy to be happy when you wake up on the right side of the bed. But you know too well that those days are scarce. For the majority of us, most of our time is spent walking the tightrope to the next problem. This letter isn’t written from a position of power.

I’ve been in the worst of worst situations. I felt down on my luck, really shitty with no way out in sight. But the only way you’ll be able to find a solution to your problem is if you bitch slap yourself back into focus. And, since you haven’t done so already, I’ve decided to step in and slam you over the face instead. The only way you’ll be able to break the cycle is by not letting your current situation affect your state of mind.

As a matter of fact, when your life is at its lowest, your mind needs to be at its strongest for you to be able to climb back up cause to have a weak mind when you’re going through low times in your life there really is no saying how or what your outcome may be.. Fuck letting anxiety drag you down cause when your anxiety drags you down its only creating a whole other world of problems; use it as motivation to get ahead. Fuck letting fear stop you from doing what you want; do it anyway and feel invincible. Stop asking “why” and start asking “how”. This is not the time for hindsight.

At this moment, it doesn’t matter how you got yourself into this situation. Right now it doesn’t matter what you could’ve done differently. Because what’s done is done and can’t be changed no matter how much we all wish we could change our past we just can’t. It doesn’t work that way. All that matters is what you are going to do next. You’ve made your bed, but don’t sleep in it just yet, as you’ll probably just end up sobbing through the night. Leave the bed alone and stay up planning your comeback.

The popular saying goes: “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”. But the reality is that the tough should always be going, because that’s what makes them tough in the first place. It’s hard. Very hard. Sometimes Life punches you straight in the gut, knocks you down, and just keeps on kicking and there are time when you feel as though the kicks and the punches never stop, But don’t roll all over the floor and give in . Take the beating, but don’t let it beat you. Allow yourself to be knocked down, but not knocked out. You can’t anticipate the next punch, but you can contemplate your next move. Life can be pure beauty. Life can be truly amazing.

But Life can also be a battle, and right now it is When Life hits, it can rob you of your sleep, energy, and power. It may play with your mind, shaping it and twisting it. It can attack your emotions, self-esteem, and confidence. But never, ever, EVER let it fiddle with your mindset. Always keep a sharp focus.

Never lose sight of what’s really important. Always hold what really matters close to you…. never ever loosing focus on that. Keep pushing and struggling until you get yourself up, stand straight, and look Life right in the face. There’s no fear in you anymore. No anxiety. No hesitation staring down Life can be the same as staring down the barrel of a loaded shotgun. You’ve gone through hell and back, but you’re still standing up, ready for more. Because you can take the punches. You can take the attacks, the beatings, and anything else Life has in its arsenal.

And at that moment, Life smiles and walks away. You depart on good terms. The world is beautiful again. Birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Your wounds are healing and you’re rising higher than ever. But you don’t forget. Because sooner or later, you and Life are going to clash again and there’s always a possibility of not knowing how hard life will clash with you. Life will throw more punches when you least expect it…..Only this time you’ll be smarter. You won’t make the same mistakes again. You won’t get broken as easily. And this time, if you’re smart enough… …you’ll be the one to throw the first punch.

My hope in sharing this letter is that it will inspire and motivate to be all that you can be; that even when facing challenges to keep on going and not give up no matter how hard life may get. Cause always keep in mind that life isn’t going to be easy; to encourage and to set your goals and stay focused on achieving them, not losing sight of the goals ; and a reminder to realize that you are born to succeed. And, most importantly as you work to achieve your goals, enjoy life to the fullest, and if you fall ALWAYS make sure that you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue fighting to achieve your goals. Cause a person in life without goals is a person just wasting time!

This life that you’ve been given is a gift. Cherish it. Embrace it. Find yourself because you do have a purpose whether it be a teacher, a writer, a musician, a surgeon, a therapist, or an artist, whatever you choose. And never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do because who are they to dictate your life? Your purpose in this life is different from anyone else’s, and everybody’s paths are different. That’s what makes us all such unique human beings. Follow your own path, your own journey.

I think a major part of life is searching for who we want to be, what we want to do. I feel like others put that pressure on us because we have to decide what we want to do for the rest of our lives. But if you don’t know what you want to do, then that’s okay. Don’t make a hasty decision because you think you have to have your entire life figured out right now. You don’t. Sooner or later you will find what you want to do, but you will not find it without trying out and discovering new adventures and new opportunities.

By: Stephen A. Lara