Anita Parker

The Road Less Traveled

Picture waking up one day in your mid to late thirties to the realization that your life, until that point, had been unfulfilled. What you considered living had been nothing more than existing. As you look back, you come to the conclusion that your life, in totality, has been void of various key components that make life worth living. With each thought, it becomes increasingly apparent that you have accomplished little more than going through the motions. This was me…

I spent countless hours trying to convince myself that this was all a lie and I’d lived my life to its fullest potential. The stark truth of the matter was that I had not fully lived, but survived. I created a list of things that I dreamed of doing in former years, but couldn’t check one off as being completed. In that moment, my entire life could be described in one word – lackluster. I had experienced much, but lived little.

Upon further examination, I found that I had allowed trauma, broken promises, failed relationships, and the like to not only stunt me, but stop me dead in my tracks. I used the word “allowed” because, truth be told, I didn’t have to let this be my portion. I had the power to change things all along, never having invoked it. Like so many others, I had subconsciously checked out. What I did next was paramount to the next leg of my journey. I made the decision to get off of the proverbial porch. I vowed to take the road less traveled.

What is the road less traveled? It’s the one where you live outside of the parameters of limitations. On this road, bondage is replaced with freedom. The things that once held you captive lose their grip. The sky is not the limit here. The only limitations are the ones you set in your mind. The footprints on the road less traveled are few due to the need for acceptance becoming so high. Society has evolved to a point that only those who fit into a certain criteria are accepted, causing forfeiture of individuality. The expectation – be like everyone else, do as everyone else does, and go with the flow. This mantra cannot be so on the road less traveled. This path calls for you to swim upstream.

If all that you’ve read thus far strikes a nerve, there is a possibility that you have become complacent in the box that life has put you in. Hurt, shame, guilt, failed attempts, poor performance, labels, etc. may have steered you in the direction of an unfulfilled life. It’s time to take the wheel back! Dream or dream again, take some chances, experience things outside of your norm. LIVE! Don’t keep waiting for tomorrow, as it may never come. It’s time to seize the moment! Build new relationships, go places that you thought you could never go, and pursue the career that you had become convinced that you weren’t qualified to do. Kick the sides out of your box and break free! The time has come for you to enjoy life to the fullest. You only get one and the clock is ticking. Your new life starts now! All that’s holding you back is YOU. Cast off the restraints! Live life on your terms and be free to BE!