When I think back to my high school days, my memories probably fall outside the norm. For me, high school wasn’t about the friendships I made, or the transition from childhood into adulthood. Instead, it was about the life lessons I learned within those walls.

When I was in my graduating year of high school, one of my teachers was talking about the future and what was in store for us. He left us with some parting words. He said:

“You never know your capabilities until you try.”

Such inspiring words have touched me, and been ingrained in my mind for the past 7 years.

Fear of failure

Photo Credit: imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Trying is always easier said than done. All of us are scared to fail – it’s not easy to put ourselves out there. We fear disappointing ourselves, our parents, our family, our friends; we want everyone to know that we can do it. Because of this fear, we would rather stay somewhere that already feels safe and secure, than to take that leap forward.

The decision to move forward

But as scary as the future is, we need to have the courage to move forward. In order to live a happy and fulfilling life, we need to grow as people. We need to take that job that might further our career, move to somewhere new, or have the strength to start a new relationship after previous heartbreak. If we want to have a great life, not just a good one – we have to strive to be happy, not just content. We have to challenge ourselves to do and be better.

Believing in yourself

When I first realised I wanted to be a writer, a mere 6 months ago; I had only 9 Twitter followers and 50 visitors a day. But I chose to believe in my abilities and now I have 900 Twitter followers and up to 500 visitors daily. I have also guest posted on the No. 1 Personal Development Website in the UK, as well as top writing websites. I juggled all that with my life as a stay at home mother. I would have never achieved this unless I was willing to try; unless I truly believed that I had a message worth sharing. You need to believe in yourself, if you want others to believe in you too.

Failure is easier to overcome than regret

Every time you push yourself to the limits, you are putting yourself out there to possibly fail. But failure is a part of life – it challenges you to do better, it teaches you what your weaknesses are in order to transform them into strengths. If you don’t put yourself out there, you will be left regretting your decisions in life. By always putting in 100% effort, you will never regret not trying hard enough – you’ll know that you tried your best.

Make the decision to try

We are all a lot stronger than we think; we can handle a lot more than we believe. We need to put ourselves out there; take the risks that have been weighing on our minds. We need to believe in ourselves and our abilities.

And remember, we may be ordinary people, but each of us is capable of doing extraordinary things…..

We just have to be brave enough to start trying.

Thuy Wood (formerly known as Thuy Yau) is a freelance writer, resume/cover letter writer and Youth Worker living in Perth, Australia. She loves to share her own personal experiences about overcoming adversity, as she believes that human beings are more capable than they realise. She writes to make a positive difference in the world and to inspire others to learn from themselves and their own experiences. Her writing has been discussed on radio, won writing contests, appeared on The Huffington Post UK and major Australian sites such as news.com.au, SMH, Kidspot and Essential Kids. She has just completed her first book – a memoir - and is on the search for a publisher.