1. “I can’t start now.” You’re not too old to change career paths or pick up a new skill. You might feel like you should’ve had your entire life planned out when you were a senior in high school choosing your college major, but that’s bullshit. You can’t expect to know exactly what you want to do with the rest of your existence when you’re so young. If you’re in your twenties or thirties or beyond, don’t feel like you missed out on your chance to do what you love. You can change your dream at any time.

2. “I’m not talented enough to succeed.” You can’t expect to be perfect at something the first time you attempt it. You need to practice in order to grow. You need to invest time and energy into whatever it is you want from this life. Even if you have doubts about whether you’re ever going to be good enough in your field, remember success is about more than pure talent. It’s also about resilience, persistence, and timing. You can do this, but you have to start by putting in the work.

3. “I’m too comfortable to make a change.” Comfort can be damning. If you get too comfortable in your current situation (even if your situation isn’t exactly ideal), then you aren’t going to want to make any changes. You would rather deal with the devil you know than the unknown. But if you want to be happy, you have to be willing to take risks. You have to venture out of your comfort zone. You have to make choices you feel are best, even if you have no idea where they will take you. You can’t let yourself settle today or you’ll probably settle tomorrow.

4. “I don’t want to let anyone down.” As much as you care about the opinions of your friends and family, you don’t exist to please them. You should be doing whatever makes you happy. You should be making decisions based on your own personal desires. If your loved ones are unsupportive, oh well. This is your life. They can make choices for themselves and you can make choices for youreslf. That’s the way it works.

5. “Trying isn’t going to make a difference.” You can’t assume your actions are pointless. You can’t assume you’re going to fail before you even put yourself out there and try. You need to work on your self-confidence. You need to believe you are capable of great things. What you do today is going to impact your tomorrows, so don’t let any time go to waste.

6. “I can’t do anything right.” Failure is a part of life. You shouldn’t consider it proof that you’re never going to succeed. You should use the lessons you learned as stepping stones to get closer and closer to your ultimate goal. Stop beating yourself up over the mistakes you’ve made in the past and start brainstorming how you can use your new knowledge to do better in the future.