Kids dream big because at that young of an age, they feel like nothing is truly stopping them. Some have a fear of heights and dream of becoming the next great astronaut; others don't understand a thing about politics and still, proudly tell others they're going to be the president of the United States someday.
That's what's so incredible about the future generations. They grow up pure and innocent, nobody having the nerve to tell them they can't do something like dreaming big. What hurts is knowing millions of dreams don't happen. They stay in the vault wanting nothing more than to soar outside.
Dreams don't happen because people don't happen. Yes, you're sitting here in front of a screen reading this saying, "I'm happening, I'm alive and well." But the person your younger self-wanted you to be isn't happening. You're almost a different person.
No matter how much we fight it, we're somehow still molded and shaped into the ideal people everyone else wants us to be. Today's customs and societies needs and wants are still embedded into our systems.
Which isn't always a bad thing but it's not entirely a good thing either.
We claw and scratch to be unique; to figure ourselves out and grow up to be who we have always wanted to be. Our plans change all the time.
But there's one thing we should never do.
Don't settle.
Regardless of the odds against you, don't you dare give in or settle for anything less than what you've been reaching for.
And I mean this for just about everything.
Don't settle against the dream when it suddenly seems too far out of reach. I don't care if it takes you hundreds of tries like it took Walt Disney. The end result will happen.
Don't settle for that person because you haven't been in a relationship for so long. "Don't settle on anybody just so you can have somebody," I promise you, the right person will come along. Trust me on that one.
Don't settle for lower standards on something because having higher standards doesn't get you everything you've ever wanted. You deserve the best. Love yourself and let time take care of the rest.
Don't settle for being someone's second option. You deserve to be treated as a first option regardless of the amount of people in someone else's life. People who put you second aren't worth your time.
Don't settle for things left unsaid. Never leave a friendship on rocky waters. Say what's on your mind, even if the other person deems things over already.
Don't settle for not feeling good enough. Pick yourself up, brush the invisible dirt and horrible feeling off your shoulder, and get yourself moving. You are good enough. You just need to get the job done.
Don't settle for losing. The only failure is giving up. Yes, you will lose again and again but that's not a loss unless you give up. Success is on its way. Go earn it. You got this.
Don't settle for not being yourself. Planet Earth needs someone like you. Be you, embrace you, love you.
But beyond all that, don't settle for anything less than the life you were given. There's a world out there full of endless possibilities and dreams waiting to be fulfilled.
Go live it.
