We’re all individuals. The things we bring to the table matter. Our role in this world is determined by the efforts we put forth; the energy we expel into our surroundings.

Don’t live stagnant in a world you didn’t help craft. Don’t remain still in a place your efforts didn’t somehow enhance.

Wouldn’t you prefer to look back on your life with happiness, rather than regret? Regret is a term you shouldn’t have to live with. It means you didn’t take the risks you should have. It means you didn’t follow through with the opportunities you uncovered. It means you left your dreams on the back burner – sizzling, but not quite burning. You left them just warm enough to make yourself feel better, but not temped well enough to do much with.

When your road leads you further from this moment, will those new surroundings please or depress you? Will you have left something behind? Something invaluable, precious, or perhaps intangible?

Don’t play a role in a world you had no part in creating. Don’t get stuck in a life void of spirit and passion. Your life may feel small. You might view your place in this world as insignificant. But this frame of mind will only harm your mental health. Remember: you are capable of so much. Your passions and skills have led you to this present moment. And that, my friends, is an achievement in itself.

Don’t deny yourself the opportunities you deserve.

If you want to start that business, go for it. Don’t fall short on your dream because you feel you can’t. Don’t ignore your entrepreneurial urge because you feel you aren’t worthy. You are worthy. You will always be worthy. And your place in this world matters. The world hasn’t defined you a set path. It isn’t a portrait crafted by an artist with the finishing touches already in place. It’s not a stepping stone into something else.

Life is a blank, multi-edged canvas.

Whether you run with your entrepreneurial ideas, write about the details of a rainstorm in France, or teach children the importance of literature – your role matters. Your path is significant. And your impression upon the rest of the world is uniquely substantial.

Your accomplishments are distinctly yours. How you reach your goals, the journey you embark upon – however difficult – to get there is exclusive. It’s unique to only you.

Don’t live with regret.

When your dreams are lost to obligation, how will you live with yourself? How will you go on knowing you didn’t persevere? How will you proceed knowing you didn’t push to reach your goals? Perhaps you will sit idly, quietly, murmuring that you had no choice; that your life and all that could have been was always out of your hands. But folks – the outcome can always be better. It will be better. And the notion that everything is out of your control is pure nonsense.

Don’t let another undermine the importance of your role.

Your path shapes the rest of your life. Whatever route you take, whichever role you take on, matters. And its impression is far more significant than you might realize.

Don’t sit quietly as the world around you falls apart. Don’t ignore the impending changes as your surroundings falter and the colors of your soul slowly chip away like aged paint.

This world depends on you. It relies on you to persevere, to push through failure, criticism, and emotional distress. It needs you to remain determined, even when it feels as though everyone is against you; even when you can’t see your worth. Your place in this world is significant. And your role matters – no matter how much another may preach the contrary.