Reaching for the stars

I came to the conclusion last weekend that most of my life I've been playing things small. Do you ever feel that way, like you've been telling yourself your dreams really just aren't possible right now because of one thing or another, and you'll get to them tomorrow? It's not a very empowering way to live, telling myself I don't have the money to do this, or I'm not ready to do that...Well, when am I going to be ready exactly?

I was recently reading about an actor who made his life about facing his fears. He deliberately does things he's afraid of, like swimming with sharks. And, even though he's still afraid of sharks, he knows he can face that fear and move on. I've always had the hardest time with facing my fears. I have a hard time looking stupid, or, at least, feeling like people think I look stupid. I worry about what people think of me. I'm getting better. Most days I don't feel the need to be embarrassed, but it's an ongoing process.

One thing I've discovered is that the one thing I fear the most isn't failing, it's succeeding. Sure, I want to find my husband and write novels that people love in they way they love Harry Potter and Twilight (yes, I know, I'm ambitious), but what do I do if that all actually happens? And what if my husband is the man I really want him to be, someone that seems so out of my reach-not to mention out of my league- that I feel ridiculous to even consider hoping for it? I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it.

Of course, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of failing in these things too.

The only thing I know to do is be positive, to envision my future in my mind and keep that vision with me wherever I go. To set realistic goals to get to where I want to be, even if where I want to be seems like reaching for the stars.

Have you ever felt like you've had goals in life that were unreachable, but achieved them anyway?

(I saw another poster from Susannah Tucker via Not Your Average Ordinary and loved this one so much on etsy that I had to use it.)