Can it be true that the scarier the opportunity, the more rewarding the result? And if we never take risks does this mean we shall never experience glory?
I’ve adopted a phrase of late that has empowered me to do a lot of things I would otherwise have held back on. It’s also helped me deal with the consequences when my actions haven’t quite worked out as I’d hoped.
What’s the worst that can happen?
Usually the worst is so far fetched and unlikely that it is immediately dismissed and I feel more confident moving forward. Typically the worst doesn’t involve death or maiming, or even damages to people or property at all. So, not all that bad in the grand scheme of things.
Another quote I’ve sometimes fallen back on in times of panic or melancholy or downright fury is this:
Will you care about this in five years time? Or even in three, or one, or even a month?
How many times have I shaken my head when I have asked myself this. I couldn’t even tell you what I may have been angry about last week, never mind a year or more ago. Most of the trivial matters I deal with in my life are completely inconsequential, even to the future me who may have experienced them.
So, yes, I’m going to step into the realm of opportunity where things might be scary – but what’s the worst that could happen? I fail, or at least learn something from that failure to take forward one day. And yes, I’m going to permit myself some risk because I’m not so naive as to think that glory is an easy thing to find. I know that there will be frustrations down the road and that, although there may be moments that seem to be defining, I’m likely not going to remember them once the risk has paid off.