(Photo Credit: Mommy Noire)
Sometimes you have to allow yourself to move away from stagnant, declining and decaying spaces to offer yourself new opportunities to reach your highest potential. Too often people’s talents aren’t able to be used or are being wasted in unproductive spaces. Embracing the status quo and/or being overtaken by a spirit of complacency leads people to develop a false consciousness that they’re truly at “home” in these restrictive spaces. When you feel like you’re not growing and aren’t able to maximize your potential, it can be quite useful to consider the spaces you’re occupying. Are you really happy where you are in life right now? If you’re not, you may want to contemplate the impact the spaces you frequent or dwell in are having on your ability to experience happiness.
Don’t simply stay in a place to make the people around you happy. Why would you want to live a miserable life just to make other people happy? Does not your own happiness matter too? If you’re going to be truly happy and successful, you must have a willingness to take risks. Find a successful person who never took a risk. Let me save you some time: you won’t find one.
When you depart from spaces you have frequented or inhabited for a long time, it’s natural to experience some separation anxiety as a result of leaving people you love. Take the necessary time to deal with the impact of this separation anxiety, but don’t lose sight of the true happiness and prosperity you desire to materialize. At some point, you’re going to have to learn the importance of keeping your emotions in check. Successful people don’t give their emotions the power to rule them; they rule their emotions. If you allow your emotions to run you, then you will make many emotional decisions; emotional decisions are often poor and damaging decisions.
You may have to try or learn some new things to make room for new beginnings and new opportunities. Don’t get frustrated with the new thing you have to learn. You have to understand that the new thing you have to learn is a part of the process of getting to the life you long to live. The path to success is not going to be easy and it’s not going to come without some struggle. When you muster the courage to pursue new beginnings and new opportunities, you have to develop a resolute mindset to meet your aspirations. You have to be determined to accomplish your goals no matter what comes your way.
Recognize that there will be people who will attempt to discourage you from pursuing new beginnings and new opportunities, but you must view them as only hindrances. Don’t permit a single hindrance to stifle your progress in any way. Keep pushing forward, even if you have to push your hindrances literally out of the way.
Be excited about pursuing new beginnings and new opportunities. One of the amazing things about life is you never know what great opportunity will come your way. It’s up to you, however, to engender an environment where new beginnings and new opportunities run to you instead of run away from you.
Life becomes sweeter and sweeter when we’re open to change. Change can be good for you. Go ahead and give yourself a chance to be a better you!
Dr. Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Revolutionary Paideia 
Talk about passion! This post makes me want to jump up and run a 5k; of which I’m not quite in shape to complete, but can. I love the message imbedded in this article. Often people will compartmentalize me and my layered passion and purpose to befit their incapacity to blossom from their deeply rooted comfort zone. Oh, but how I love me so much more than their insecurities. There are so many people that possess the potential to be great, but they allow fear and a doubtful mindset to hinder them. I needed this read to fuel my resilient motivation to be great and do EPIC things.
I’m glad this piece could provide you with the fuel you need to continue on being great and doing great things. It’s only fear that keeps others from being great and doing great things. It’s very important to never get trapped in the low expectations of others. Let them have their low expectations. We all were created by God to do great things, but we have to exercise faith in Him to allow that greatness to come forth.