Month: July 2014

Help

by Katie Welker

I would venture to say that it is quite unbearable, if not impossible, to navigate through the stress and chaos of this world without some help. And lately i’ve found that on the toughest days, ones where you’re likely too stubborn and resistant to do anything but wallow in your own misery, that’s when you can benefit from it the most.

Heaven knows that help can come in all forms: a friend moving you into a new apartment; family supporting you through a difficult situation; a coworker shedding light on a challenging project; a roommate doing the dishes; a mentor assisting you through a new career path; your significant other helping you find comfort in life’s simplicities, maybe even God helping you find peace of mind in things that you just don’t understand.

Try to be open minded and brave enough to ask for help, and on the flip side, offer it to someone else if they appear to be in need. Help shouldn’t be synonymous with weakness or vulnerability, it should be a symbol of strength and a true sense of self. Why carry the weight of the world on your shoulders when you don’t have to? Ask, and you shall receive.

 

Help

Advertisement

Name your fear

by Katie Welker

Failure. Mediocrity. Unbalance. Complacency.

I’m petrified of them all becoming a reality.

I’m afraid of passing up opportunities just because the timing is less than ideal.

I’m scared that i’ll be forgotten by those who I hope remember me the most.

Even more so, i’m scared of settling and not realizing that I have. I guess that boils down to being too comfortable. Resting on my laurels sounds like the most miserable option of all time. But what if I never find what it is that i’m truly great at, never find a place that doesn’t feel like i’m a square peg in a round hole? I suppose most people may feel that way in one category of their life or another.

Worst of all, i’m scared that these fears will either hold me back or that my expectations for myself and my own life are so high that i’ll never meet them. I’ve been warned before that expectations are the root of most evil, and maybe that’s true. I aim extremely high and it’s hard for me to be satisfied. Though while I believe I’m as easy going as they come, I constantly and incessantly yearn for more intrinsic fulfillment in every and any aspect of my life.

Maybe one day all of this will add up: the late nights spent blogging to the Rolling Stones, striving to learn from people and daily experiences, wearing my heart on my sleeve with no reservation and no shame, navigating from one engaging article and one captivating novel to the next, attempting to reflect upon my incomplete and scattered thoughts, crying into a carton of ice cream over loves lost, sipping wine with my feet kicked up, walking through the neighborhood and saying hello to strangers, literally stopping to smell the flowers… it’s got to add up to something. It’s got to be a part of that greater plan of which I am equal parts orchestrator and puppet.

Whether it adds up or not, there’s one thing I know for certain: despite fear, uncertainty, frustration and doubt, I never once strayed away from who I am in this moment and who I hope to be in the next. I’ve stumbled and fallen probably more than most, but I’ve never gone outside of my own morals and values in order to figure this life out.

Want to stay true to yourself? Name your fears, then turn them into your greatest source of strength.

 

Fear