Life is too short to be small.

Life is too short to be small.

That’s my one and only, unshakeable belief.

My experience has proven it time and time again.

It doesn't matter if we’re talking about the big things in life or the little ones— I would much rather regret not trying than wonder what might have happened, if I had only taken a chance. I know it's hard to think about really big things. But for me, the little things in life are what make it truly worthwhile.

I read a quote once that said: "It’s not whether you get knocked down that matters, it’s whether you get back up." And although I resisted making it my personal motto for a long time, I finally did. It feels so much more powerful than just putting up with something every day and droning on about how bad it really is.

I'm not one of those people who sit around and think "Ah, what might have been…" because I've never let the things go that are in my past control the views of my future. I don't let what happened yesterday determine how I feel about tomorrow. I never want to let the good stuff—or even the bad stuff that happened to me—limit how I live my life.

I'm not a victim of anything that's gone wrong in my life.

If something was really, really wrong, then it wouldn't have happened in the first place. So if something happened, it isn't necessarily because of anything I did to deserve it or because of anything I couldn't control. It isn't because of anything that we could have done differently in order to prevent it from happening. It is simply because it happened, and that's what makes it really hard to deal with.

I'm not one of those people who sit around and think "Ah, what might have been..." because I've never let the things go that are in my past control the views of my future. I don't let what happened yesterday determine how I feel about tomorrow. I never want to let the good stuff—or even the bad stuff that happened to me—limit how I live my life.

And when you look at the big picture, you realize it's just so incredibly short. Life is tiny and fleeting, there's no way to grasp it all in one view. There are too many moments and not enough time to really experience them all, one at a time. So this is why we have to live it, love it, learn from it and enjoy it while we can.

We have to try our best to live in the moment and take advantage of what we have. We can't waste our time looking back or looking forward. We can only focus on what's happening right now in this very moment, and make the most of it.

So no matter how big or small something might be—we need to decide for ourselves whether we are going to let it stop us from enjoying life in its entirety or not. Because if you don't do that… then you're doing yourself a disservice. You're giving in to the myth of "When" rather than actually living in the present.

Don't let people hold you back from being all you can be!

Figure out who you are and what you want, and then go for it! No holding back for anyone, no matter how big or small an opportunity might seem to be.

And if that means sticking your head out there and trying something new, so I can learn from my mistakes, then why not do that? Why would I want to shy away from failure when it's going to make me a better person for knowing about it in the first place? If I have to take risks just because they're small—then I'm going to do it.