If you don’t risk anything, you risk everything.

Can you remember the first time you tried to do something that scared you? Probably not. It might have been something benign like stepping onto an escalator, or walking off of the curb into the street, approaching a dog, or???
Some scary things are incredibly real, and through empirical knowledge, we discover that fear is valid and that can reinforce our behavior in so many ways in life going forward.
Other scary things are not real. Or they do not come to pass. They haunt us like a skeleton in a closet, waiting to pop out at a moment’s notice… dying to reinforce our innermost trepidations.
They come at us in all walks of life. In relationships with parents, family, peers, instructors, employers, clients, etc. Or they show up at the proverbial crossroads where we are making a significant decision about our lives and we are wondering whether or not to take a chance…..
For most, the choice is very obvious… take the road that is certain, do what is expected, and reinforce those doubts with good, solid common sense. And in most cases, that is the wise choice. (Maybe)
For the rest, it is the decision to take the road less travelled. Choose the unexpected option (the one your heart is begging you to take) and metaphorically GO FOR IT!
“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.” (I hope so!) Robert Plant
Once you have leaped off of a cliff…. You have eliminated most of your other options. You are all in. You will either fly or die and those odds are incredibly daunting to most people. So it is natural that most will not pursue this option.
If you do not take risks, you risk taking your journey through life without some of the greatest of life’s experiences… that unquenchable desire to continue to excel past our comfort zone into the unknown. You may feel more comfortable, more secure, more on solid ground, but perhaps in that choice, you have lost some of the most influential moments that can shape you into becoming who you are. Or more importantly, who you believe you are destined to become.
Same with risk taking in life. I felt awkward sitting in front of my house with my home made lemonade stand at 7 years old. Who would stop to buy a glass of lemonade from me?
Conquer the fear. It loves to dominate you. It lives rent-free in your brain. Smile at it when it shows up, it is trying to keep you alive. And then put it in a box and start figuring out how to fly, because you have jumped off the cliff, so being proficient at flying is now your only option.
Happy Tuesday!
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