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Story Submission by Dalton, Age 24
I wanted to share my story on how faith and a Honda S2000 gave me hope.
I have always been a very shy person with low self esteem. These two things do not go hand in hand well when you pair them with anxiety and bad overthinking, which I developed these past few years due to some very negative experiences I went through.
Anxiety is not a thing to be taken lightly. It can destroy you mentally: it can make you believe that everything around you has a negative affect. Overthinking will force you to invent negative scenarios, which will probably never happen. Do not mix up overthinking with planning ahead, they are completely different. No positive thing will come from overthinking. It will rob you of any perspective and common sense.
‘What if?’ Those two words will forever be stamped in your brain unless you decide to fight them. As I said before having low self esteem was a huge factor in my case. Why do we constantly down ourselves; why do we feel the need to think that we aren’t good enough?
The automotive world has always been my one and true passion. It’s one thing I inherited from my hero, my Father, and pretty much from birth cars have given me a very euphoric feeling; it’s hard to explain.
On the 3rd of June 2019, I reached a goal I never thought I would. At 23 years of age, after years and years of long 12 hour shifts, I bought one of my teenage dream cars, a 7,000 mile 2008 Honda S2000. From that day onwards my perspective on what is possible if I truly believe in myself completely changed. The car was just something else. The engine, the looks, the cockpit, the feeling of driving with the top down on a starry night or warm sunny day. It truly is surreal.
From there on I started training again, which has also helped me drastically improve my self esteem. Anxiety and overthinking are not things which have completely disappeared from my life. They are still there and on bad days completely drain me mentally. There is however one major difference now, being that I know that it’s just me being irrational. I know I am good enough, I know I have what it takes, I know that rough seas do not last forever.
And you can too. Believe in yourself, accept yourself, open up to people who care about you. There is no greater feeling that knowing someone is there for you no matter what. In my case it’s my parents. They have made sacrifices you would not imagine to make me happy and help me succeed and without them I would not be anything today.
Hang in there and wherever you are remember, you are on this earth for a reason. Embrace your potential and believe, you owe it to yourself and those who see the good in you.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, anxiety, self-harm or addiction, please reach out. Call 13 11 14 for Lifeline’s 24hr Telephone Crisis Support or contact a mental health professional. If you are looking for other mental health resources, browse our Find Help page.
If a life is in danger call 000 immediately.
