You can see, all around the restaurant, customers that are unhappy, yet unwilling to demand proper service. You look around and you see that fear and laziness have allowed excellence to decay into barely tolerable.

You make excuses why something might be less than excellent. You dismiss a problem thinking someone might be having a bad day.

You are tired of sub-par performance from those around you. You want the best there is, not the best someone has the energy to muster despite not having a smoke break in like… a whole half hour… pshaw!

When you spend the money that you earned, you want your products to work. When you do have a problem, you want to speak to someone who is courteous and wants to take care of the problem. You want the service man to show up on time and with all the tools needed for the job.

You demand excellence from yourself, and you should demand it from others.

You know that the person that is causing these feelings would really appreciate hearing how wonderful you feel. That person would be so grateful to hear of their importance in your life.

Given your past, though, it is no wonder why you feel so reserved. You know and understand and grasp the idea that positivity begets positivity. You know that declaring your love every day would only bring a stronger relationship, a more relaxed and stable bond, and would bring so much joy to the other person.

But you are still reserved. You do not wish to repeat the mistakes of the past.

You do realize, though, that the past is long gone. It is time to get busy living, or get busy dying. (With all apologies to Brooks Hatlen.)

Believe it or not, you can let yourself go without losing yourself. You can express what you feel inside without putting yourself at any more risk than you are now by being reserved. Heartache happens. Regardless of what you say or do not say. You should enjoy every moment, every relationship, every success, and every good feeling.

You know you should not hold back anymore. So don’t!