I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.

Whatever you were handed, a good part of how your life goes is still answerable to deliberate effort. Not effortless, and not guaranteed, but genuinely responsive. The encouraging part is not that change is easy; it is that it is possible at all, which is not something you can prove in advance. You find out by attempting it.

Choose one thing about your days you have quietly filed as fixed. Test it for a month with actual effort rather than intention. Even a small shift tells you something true about how much is still open.