Own the Moment!

Everyone has fear.  Everyone has doubts and trepidation of the unknown.  Trying new things, going through a routine or situation totally unfamiliar can be unsettling and unpleasant.  Many people shy away from the new, the ‘out of the ordinary’ for that very reason.  I know; I was one of them.  I used to be the perennial wall flower.  I used to be so shy it was crippling.  The fear of failure, the anxiety of not knowing the outcome, the inexperience of dealing with things ‘on the fly’ all got in the way of my quest to tackle life and make it not only one worth living, but one worth telling about too.  As a writer, I feel I need experiences to enrich and enliven my stories, my characters, narrative, plot, and as an aside and a bit selfishly, broaden my own personal horizons too.  But how can you broaden your horizons if you’re afraid to reach for the edge of the world?  You can’t.

            So what do you do?  Socialization was an agonizing mystery to me for the longest time, but I really wanted to get to know people.  I used to think to myself, “It would be so easy to talk to people, if only they’d start the conversation…”  And that’s when it hit me!  What if everyone else felt that way too?  What if I could take that burden away from them?  It would all be so much easier.  But how would I, a cripplingly shy person start a conversation?  The answer is simple.  I would have to Own the Moment!  For just one minute, when I said “Hi”, “How’s it going?”, or “What’s going on?” I could be that socially competent, confident guy everyone likes to be around.  And if I failed, who cares.  That attempt would count as my victory and I’d try again. 

            That one moment where I committed to my goal, focused, determined, unafraid, would drive me.  That brief but intense feeling of living, experiencing every ounce of vitality and life would be my inspiration.  I forced myself to try and interact with whoever I was near, simply for the practice, and the experience.  And those times where I least felt like putting myself on the line, possibly making a fool of myself or screwing up, that’s the time I committed to Owning the Moment even more.  It’s that damned Comfort Zone again, if you don’t push on it, it shrinks.  It’s relentless that way.  But so must we! 

            There’s an old saying: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”.  It’s true and I think it means that the experiences you have can and will affect you deeply if you let it.  But there’s one thing I’ve learned about life.  It doesn’t just happen to you; you have to make it happen.  Motivate yourself.  Be the Breathtaker and Own the Moment!