Life is won by inches. That means when you mess up something, you get multiple chances to redeem yourself. It also means that when you do good, it doesn't mean squat unless you keep doing good. It's never about one or two significant victories or losses, but what happens the one hundred, one thousand times after. It's not about the goal, but the commitment.

Success is not about instances but trendlines. It's not about where you start but where you go. Victory is about the persistence to improve. And so we must. Persist.

Recently, I found an opportunity to do one of those things I've always wanted to try, but instead of excitement, I feel this uneasy sense of anxiety. The truth is, for the longest time I've only been able to get by doing what I do because I believe that it will lead me to what I want, while pretending not to notice that I don't actually know what that is. Maybe that's why I've been getting by so poorly, because strong thoughts are only enough to get you by, not enough to lift you up. Now that everything is moving, I'm starting to wonder if I was wrong, and what happens afterwards.

Figuring out how to be happy seemed so much easier in high school. That sureness about what comes next is hard to notice, but it was always there. Everyday you woke up knowing who your friends were, what your day was going to be like, and where you were headed. That realization that nothing is actually set in stone replaced that sureness through college, stalking the back of my mind, subtlely holding me down, stopping me. There was a quiet fear that I didn't know what came after, and that fear silently kept me from moving through the present. That pause leaves a lot for thought, and we create strong ideas to fill in that void, comforting thoughts about how things should and will be. What if all the things I thought I knew then were just comforting thoughts, and reality will be completely different. That's what they seem like now, just comforting thoughts. 

Yet, even if I could ignore that uncertainty about my own future, I cannot ignore the things that are slowly slipping my grasp. Old friendships seem to grow more distant, and every day I wake up not certain of what I'm supposed to be doing. The truth is even if I'm not sure this is the right thing for me ahead, I don't have much choice. Life is this constantly moving target, and if I don't move, I will be left behind. And there's nothing wrong with that. The mistake I made was waiting for some sense of sureness to settle in before moving. That was a childish luxury that I don't have anymore. I have to be brave and take my steps, and find out for myself. In the end, it's not about thinking, but doing. So I will. I will find out.

When you put your feet in another man's shoes, do not merely notice the feel and fit of the shoe. Do not pay heed only to the shoe's appearance, form and style. When you put your feet in another man's shoes imagine the places that they have gone and the wear that they experienced. Imagine where he has walked from and where he aims to go, for shoes are not merely an ornament which one displays, but a record of the paths one has taken. To walk in another man's shoes is to be another man.