I Burnt Myself

when I was younger I remember one day I burnt myself

the red light next to the stove was on

and I don’t know if I didn’t know what it meant, or if I was just curious how hot the stove was

but for whatever reason, I touched the stove top and burned myself, and it hurt

now maybe that wasn’t the brightest thing to do, but I can tell you something:

I never touched the stove again when the red light was on

I learned my lesson - because it hurt

and realistically, I probably did know that would happen but for whatever reason I still did it

and it wasn’t until I actually felt the pain associated with learning that lesson that I never repeated it

so Alex why are you telling me a story of why you touched a hot stove you moron

well, many of you are touching the hot stove, year after year after year.

The problem is, maybe you’re only touching the stove when it’s luke warm right now

But I promise you, each year it’s getting hotter, and hotter, and eventually, you’re going to get burned, badly, and you’re going to feel it

drifting through life, knowing you want more, knowing you SHOULD be doing more and feeling motivated right before the new year just to disappoint yourself

you said you were going to get in great shape years ago

you said you were going to improve your grades

you said you were going to get your finances up

you said you were going to leave that job making you miserable

you said you were going to fix your broken relationships

and every moment you let pass, the stove is getting hotter and hotter

and I’m here to tell you this:

you don’t have to wait for it hurt badly to fix it

why let these problems grow larger and more painful

when you can start working on them, today.

stop looking for validation and permission from other people to do what you know you should do

don’t get burned,

alex