Making Mistakes

This blog post is inspired by my English teacher. 

In class, she always encourages us to try to answer or just voice out opinions, saying, "Don't ever be afraid to make mistakes."

But when I was thinking about it, I realized it isn't the fear of making mistakes. It isn't the fear of being wrong. It is the fear of embarrassment, humiliation, fear of the titters of people behind your back (or, if they're mean enough, in your face) as you do something wrong. And it is this fear that hold us back from trying new things or attempting to do something, for fear of making a mistake. 

This is a side effect of self-consciousness. Already, a person is too anxious to stand out among the crowd. Having others laugh at or tease this person would make things a hundred times worse. I know the feeling all too well, because I walk in these shoes every day. You sort of get the feeling you want to just dissolve into the shadows and disappear. Sometimes, in extreme cases, you may even wish you could just stop existing. 

So how do we overcome this fear that is caused by other fears?

Once we have understood the root cause of the fears, and identified exactly what, or even whom, we are scared of, we can proceed to trying to overcome those little fears, and work towards building confidence.

Why confidence?

Because CONFIDENCE is the key to everything! When you are confident, you literally feel like you're on top of the world. You feel surer than anything of yourself. 

AND AFTER THAT? Just confidence won't help. You need to build that I-don't-give-a-damn-what-other-people-think attitude (EASIER SAID THAN DONE!) We go through life caring too much about what people think.

There's a quote I read on facebook that goes with this: Those that matter don't care, and those who care don't matter.

Well, we need to change that! We need to make sure those who don't care DON'T MATTER, and those who care MATTER!

Once again, EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

Sadly, I cannot give you any tips on how to achieve these goals, as I am currently struggling to reach them myself. All I can say is GOOD LUCK! 

My Heart Goes Out

I'M ONLY GOING TO BE POSTING ONCE A WEEK FROM NOW ON. Sorry, I've been getting busier and busier, so I don't have much time. Also, a bit of a lack of inspiration these days.

This was a poem I built upon the thought "My heat goes out to the people around me." It just struck me out of nowhere and I built a poem on that.

MY HEART GOES OUT:

My heart goes out
To those around me
The witnesses of horror
And the victims of misery.
My heart sends warmth
To thaw hearts of ice
And bring real smiles to faces
That need to see something nice.
My heart sends hope
To those hearts beating in hell
And awaken the sleeping ones
Like a loud bell.
My heart sends prayers
To those broken and in pain
To those who've given up on life
Those whose efforts were in vain.
My heart sends help,
Bandages and medicine
To mend those shattered hearts
And make them healthy again.
My heart sends prayers
To the ones I love
Make wishes for them
At 11:11 and upon the stars above.
My heart goes out
Even to those who don't want it
My heart goes out
Because I care and can't stop it.

So many people around us are hiding so much- pain, sadness, fear, anxiety, nervousness, anger, despair, ... All behind a façade of bravado, a forced smile, a fake laugh. And it's not always negative feelings too.

There are people walking around with heavy hearts. We don't know who's struggling and who's not. Maybe there are soldiers who have returned from war. Maybe there are witnesses of unimaginable sights. Maybe there are those who are feeling miserable all the time. There are hearts that are frozen in ice and have become cold and cruel. There are broken hearts, shattered ones that are so close to becoming glitter dust. There are hearts petrified with fear, hiding under the disguise of courage. There are hearts that are going through tough times and are literally fighting and beating in hell. There are hearts that are so sad they haven't smiled or laughed for real in days. There are hearts so close to giving up they are contemplating suicide.

We don't know exactly what everyone is going through, and we may never know. But I know there are people going through these things. I may not know who is going through what, but to all of them my heart goes out. My heart sends warmth, hope, prayers, medicine, bandage, wishes, care,... My heart goes out to you all. Whether you want it or not. Because I care.

So if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm all ears and ready to listen.