Just as I have repeatedly made mistakes, I’ve spent my life surprising myself over and over and over again. Mistake. Surprise. Mistake. Mistake. Surprise. Mistake. Surprise. I’ve lost myself to despair from failures. I’ve felt the elation that erupts from taking courage and pulling through. I’ve experienced the joy that comes from surprising myself.

The real juice in life comes from the unexpected.

When we don’t see our power; when we take our mistakes seriously; when we play it safe, we are at risk of denying ourselves this juice — the elixir of surprise. We can prove ourselves wrong and do the thing, despite how it feels, push through, and emerge a little rattled, but alive.

We can surprise ourselves every day of the week if we choose. I’ve done it, and so have you, but we don’t do it nearly as much as it is available to us — but we must, as often as possible. Prove yourself wrong. Again, and again, and again.

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Why ourselves? Why not prove others wrong? We think we are surrounded by enemies. We are preoccupied with those who seem to threaten us. There are dangerous people around us. Yes. In that regard, they are our enemy. We must protect ourselves from them. But they are a threat because of one reason: They see themselves in you. They are acting out, not against you, but against themselves. The only real enemies we have sit inside of us.

Those people you’re scared of? Those people you despise? Those people you look at with scorn? Those people are you.

The fear you have of them is the fear you have of yourself. The enemy is always within you. So the only person you need to prove wrong is yourself. The way to energize yourself, more than anything, is to surprise yourself. Everyone else is either wrapped up in their issues, or they’re waiting to step back for you to do your thing.

The world wants you to step up, and do what you were meant to do. No one cares as much as you do until you create something outstanding anyway. We exaggerate the hater; the naysayer; the enemy. We give them a space in our heads when they don’t exist anyway. By putting so much attention on them, we over-estimate them. We give them power, and we drain our own. 

I do not believe there is anyone who truly wants you to fail — only you do.

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You might think they do, but true enemies do not exist. There is tremendous freedom in knowing this. Only you have the power to hold yourself back. There are no excuses. Your enemies are in your head, and the world is waiting. If someone who looks like you has succeeded, what excuse do you have?

All my experiences show me that the majority of people, whoever they are, wherever they come from, are wholly behind that person who steps up. They are behind you. And those that seem like they aren’t are hating themselves. They see themselves in you. They rarely dare show themselves from behind their screen anyway.

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You can view trolls as terrible and get upset, or you can express fleeting sympathy for the hatred that person has for themselves. You put your blinders on as you can continue to blow minds with what you can do. Those who cry victim are treated as such. And it is not surprising that they are. If you allow yourself to believe in your lies, you only have yourself to blame.

When I’m hurting, I know it’s because I’m feeling sorry for myself, I’m playing the victim, I’ve made the world my enemy. That pain is a sign I need to get up, take responsibility, and start proving myself wrong again. Understand that you are your number one occupational hazard. Step into the void, even if the voice in your head says NO. Act — even if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Prove yourself wrong. Put it in your calendar.Surprise yourself continuously.

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Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient. 

This article was originally published at Medium. Reprinted with permission from the author.