When I was younger, I had an intense hatred for the game Whack-A-Mole. I think it all boiled down to the fact that the concept of the game just bothered me. I spent my time whacking faster and faster, working harder and harder, and in the end, I always lost. I never managed to move as fast as the game required. I never arrived. After spending minutes or hours of my time immersed in the game, I came up short every single time.

At my core, this is one of my greatest fears in life.

That I would spend my time immersed in the game, playing to win the better grade, this person’s attention, that person’s approval. Striving for unattainable standards, moving faster and faster in pursuit of targets which are always moving just out of my reach. I’m scared that I’ll be so immersed in this game that I’d fail to show up for my actual life. That I’d be busier and more accomplished, but that I’d fail at everything that really matters. So today, I want to look up. I want to look past the clicks, the scrolls, and the double taps. I want to be more than the number scratched in red pen at the top of my test. I want to be still long enough to realize that every single day is a small miracle. So now, I’m aiming for a different type of success.

I want to be brave more than I want to be perfect.

I’d like to plant good things in this world, then stand back and watch them grow.

I want to be found laughing or dancing or sitting in the real pain with my people.

And I dare you to join me there.