You're Not Afraid Of The Future, You're Afraid Of Repeating Past Mistakes

It’s not always easy to get out of bed. Sometimes, if we know what the day has in store for us, we wish we could just keep sleeping until the storm passes.

But everyone says we should wake up feeling energized and ready to take on the day. Everyone believes the best way to live life is to wake up motivated and hungry to take on all that life has to throw at us.

But the truth is sometimes life throws sh*t at us with such consistency that we begin to feel worn out. Tired. Like we need to just keep on sleeping in order to eventually, one day, wake up feeling energized and happy.

Maybe the goal really is to live life like the Energizer bunny, to find the motivation and the will to get going and keep moving.

But why? We may very well understand that in order for us to have a better tomorrow, we need to be the ones to go for what we want and create that future.

But for some reason, we’re not going after it. We’re telling ourselves we just need to rest a bit more. We just need a few more hours of sleep before we’re ready.

And yet, we’re never ready. Mental exhaustion very commonly manifests itself in the physical. It’s not so much that your body is tired -- it’s that your mind is feeling worn out and is telling your body you’re tired.

But, again, why?

There’s really only one good, feasible theory for why we refuse to move ourselves forward: We’re afraid of what the future holds in store for us.

We’re afraid things won’t get easier and we will, once again, fail. We’re tired because we’re afraid of our future -- and we’re afraid of our future because we fear reliving our past.

You have lost faith in yourself.

It happens to the best of us, especially to those of us who grew up having high hopes for ourselves, only to find ourselves in a rut.

It’s completely understandable to be afraid of repeating past mistakes. Even if you learn from your mistakes rather quickly, you’re still afraid that life may very well throw the same garbage your way, only manifested in a different form.

It’s amazing how many problems we face that are all, while a bit different, still basically the same.

We get a new job only to start to hate our new job. We finally fall in love, only to have our heart broken -- again. We keep repeating our habits because they comfort us, and then that comfort makes it more difficult to push ourselves out of that comfort zone.

Nevertheless, when life feels uncomfortable, we feel like we need that extra comfort. But the worst part is we fear we won’t be able to pull ourselves out of the rut that the extra comfort puts us in.

We fear this may be it, that this may be the life we’re going to have to accept as our own.

Well, snap out of it. Because the longer you live a life you don’t especially care to live, the more difficult it becomes to pull yourself out and push yourself toward the next chapter of your story.

You’re not alone in how you feel, but you are alone when it comes to getting yourself out of this slump. No one will get you out of it except you. You’re your own problem, and your current mindset is what’s making progress so difficult.

You’re afraid because the reality you’ve created for yourself won't allow you to be happy.

Some realities, some ways of seeing and interpreting the world, doom you to misery. Some ways of living life won’t allow you to ever be happy because happiness itself isn’t a part of that reality.

The only way to live a better life is to see the world in a better light. To have hope. To have faith in yourself and your abilities. To have faith that things will work themselves out in the end as long as you refuse to give up.

If you change the way you see the world, your past will not outline your future.

So, change it. See it. Focus on it. And do it. One day at a time. When you finally do, you won’t want to sleep because you’ll be afraid of missing out on what the day has to offer.

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