Switching Out of Cruise Control

This summer, I started karate with my brother as part of my Ultimate Bucket List Challenge. The front wall of the karate school is a mirror. We begin performing all our motions facing this mirror and, just like in a dance or yoga studio, its purpose is to help us self-correct the mistakes we make in form, stances, and motion. Karate is all about self-discipline and focus. We are constantly correcting ourselves so that we can be stronger, more efficient, and maximize our power. Our respect for the art, our superiors, and our peers comes from how hard we work and how much dedication we have to doing the motions correctly. Unfortunately, life doesn't come with a mirrored wall, a reflective surface where we can see what exactly it is that we are doing wrong. Still, it is our responsibility to analyze our lives and constantly strive to be the best possible versions of ourselves. Practice makes perfect and as a young person, I find my greatest weakness lies in my lack of practice living. Over the last couple weeks, as the demands from school, extra-curriculars, and other activities weigh down, I've learned that it is very easy to stop living and to start letting the events of of our day shape our lives. In effect, I find myself going into cruise control, tumbling around in whichever direction these external pressures take me. I don't want to hand over the reigns to my freedom so willingly. Although life will continue to be surrounded by all the things that are expected of me, I refuse to let these things control me. I am the master of my own destiny. Without a nudge to the steering wheel, a car will undoubtedly run off the path and into the nearest ditch, however noble its original intentions may have been. The road to discovering the best possible version of myself will be lost if I do not stop to evaluate the decisions I make on a day to day basis and the values I hold strong to my character. Here's to being our own greatest leaders.