"The question is not whether we have a liturgy. The question is, 'What kind of people is our liturgy forming us to be?'" — Tish Harrison, "Liturgy of the Ordinary"

How do we create anything that contributes something to the world (or to our own lives, even), if we have deeply-rooted fears holding us back that, even if we could or wanted to try to overcome them, there'd be a never-ending list of outside forces working against that effort?

When things are hard and we want to give up, when things get in our way, when we're disheartened, we can let all those things stop us, or we can ask ourselves one question: Do I care enough to make things better?

Fear can show up in a lot of ways: the desire to avoid discomfort, anxiety, frustration and a general sense of malaise and disappointment. We feel a dull ache of life just not being on track for us, like we're not quite living it to its full potential. We find ourselves just going through the motions, “clocking time,” and feeling like we’re phoning in life. We’re avoiding something. We’re afraid of something. So how do we re-engage with life when we're afraid?

You know what makes us invest in a story from an emotional level (aside from a flawed, but growing character)? Stakes. Skin in the game. A character stands to lose (or gain) something, and the more she stands to lose or gain, the more we care about her story. Here's how upping the stakes can make your own story a lot more interesting.

When you put yourself out there, beginning the thing, doing the thing you've been afraid to do, they're going to mock you. You just have to figure out what to do with it.

When you start something, you want validation, acceptance, security, belonging. When you start something, you’ll get none of those things. You have to believe in yourself, even when no one else does.

That thing you want to do, make, or create, if you actually want to do it, make it, or create it, then you can't have excuses.

You have ONE life. What are you going to do with it?

So you've picked something you want to do, make, make happen, or create. Now what?