This is a curious world, we are always assessing "risk".
"What will they think of me if I...."
"What if I end up being disappointed?'
"What if it doesn't work out?"
"What if it makes me uncomfortable?"
"What if I have to change?"
"What might I have to give up if I........"
What will I risk?
We think we are protecting ourselves from "risk" by simply staying the same, staying where we are, yet we then resent the feeling that we're somehow "stuck".
Well, consider THIS. Maybe we're feeling STUCK because we're forcing ourselves to mitigate all the risks of ACTION in advance, playing that narrative over and over in our brains, and our brains are pulling the emergency break and saying "you'll be safe so long as you stay right where you are. Don't breath, don't move, because if you DO, the scary things will find you and eat you up." Because that's what our "survival brain" does. It resists change. Any change, even positive change. Ever make a decision which on the surface appears to have NO foreseeable downside, but does involve change, and in the next hour/day/week/month our brains seem to find all sorts of reasons why we SHOULDN'T act on it or go that direction? All sorts of "possible scenarios" about how it "could go wrong" or "this could happen" or worst case "stick man warning" signs that seem to just appear out of nowhere? That's our brain resisting change. Some call it "paralysis by analysis" and I'm here to tell you, it's REAL.
Tell me, have you considered the "risks" you are taking by NOT doing that thing that is in your heart to do? That dream you have? The risks that could happen if you don't even TRY? Try THOSE risks on for size and see how they feel.
My friends, it's time to consider the flip side of that coin.
Next time you find yourself thinking about all the risks you may be taking to take that leap of faith, with all the uncertainties that come with it, ask yourself what you risk if you DON'T?
Do firemen risk physical harm when they run into a burning building to save lives? Is that not a dangerous thing, full of risk? Is there a chance they will get injured, or killed? And yet they do it. Why? Because it is what they are trained and equipped to do...after they set their intention on becoming a firemen and get busy BECOMING a fireman.
They didn't decide to become firemen to mitigate the risk. Paramedics become paramedics to help save people's lives. Some ride in helicopters every day. Army medics save lives in war zones. Have you ever seen the movie "Hacksaw Ridge"? They know there is a risk involved in these vocations, and yet they do it anyway. Now if you're not a risk taker by nature, there are plenty of other "safer" occupations to do, which are also noble and needed! The fact is people can get hurt and killed just about anywhere.
Two people sitting in their cars, likely with their seatbelts on, stopped at a red light on a busy street in rush hour in Seattle learned that this week when a crane fell on them and crushed them. A beautiful 60 year old lady observing the Sabbath with her congregation last week learned that when a gunman opened fire. Her first instinct was to throw herself in front of the Rabbi, saving his life and ending hers. She did not foresee any risk that morning to being with her community, and yet she never came home. I wonder if she mitigated the risk before she acted as a human shield? If she did, it was in a split second, and maybe she decided the bigger risk that mattered to her was what would happen if she did NOT act.
But how about those dreams we have, sometimes buried deep inside us? Those things that maybe we feel like we're "not enough" or "not ready" or "not capable" to do, or feel like "someday I'll...." but that someday never comes because we're always thinking "someday"? What if we change that to "Today I will........" or "Today I CAN....." or "If I COULD do that, what would it look like?" Truly, think about what you risk if you DON'T instead of what you risk if you DO.
We can never alleviate all the risk to living. Question is, what life do you want to be living, NO MATTER THE RISK?
Food for thought.
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