The Courage to Want

The path of yoga is the path of courage. Not the courage to win, or even the courage to try, but the courage to want in the first place.

When we sit in meditation, we are taught to witness our desires without attachment. Not because desire itself is bad, but because our grasping at outcomes—the desperate clutching—creates suffering. We mistake wanting for possession, but in truth, all things are temporary. The breath comes and goes. The seasons change. People enter and exit our lives.

And yet, we are here to live. To participate, fully.

There is a phrase in the Upanishads: Tat tvam asi. Thou art that. It means we are not separate from what we seek. The love we want, the success we crave, the peace we long for—it is already part of us. It is not a thing to be earned or lost, only recognized.

So maybe the real challenge is not in achieving, but in believing we are worthy in the first place.

Imagine, for a moment, a different story. One where things do work out. Where disappointment is not the only ending. Imagine what it would feel like to step into that possibility—not knowing for certain what the outcome will be, but trusting yourself enough to try.

The truth is, we cling to negativity because it keeps us safe. But safety is not the same as living. Yoga teaches us to soften our grip, to allow life to unfold, to do the work and release the rest.

Maybe it’s time to stop rehearsing heartbreak and start allowing wonder. Maybe it’s time to want, to risk, to live.

After all, the worst thing that could happen is not losing.

The worst thing is never having reached at all.

Hari Om Tat Sat