Risky Business

"Of all the people I have ever known, those who have pursued their dreams and failed have lived a much more fulfilling life than those who have put their dreams on a shelf for fear of failure." -Author Unknown

The views while bouldering... really can't complain!
Today there was much sunshine, much exercise, and much conversation. I'm enjoying these beautiful spring days in all the ways I can think of, accompanied by the people I enjoy spending time with, talking until we've exhausted the subjects and fall silent to listen to the rustling leaves and sounds of our breath.

How many ways can we talk about risk?

It sure drums up a lot; fear, doubt, anger, hope, adventure, failure, wisdom. Victory.


Why do we take risks?

Imagine for a moment that no one had taken any risk. Ever. *pause for effect* It's just not possible. It's not in our DNA to never take a risk. Some Neanderthal once upon a time went hunting so that he could provide food and promote the survival of his species - he probably almost died, most likely more than once, but he risked it because it meant LIFE.

One can pretty much take anything that has ever happened in the world and boil it down to some form of risk. Rock climbing? Risky. Getting in a car? Risk. Biking, walking, standing, leaving the house! Risk, risk, risk, risk! (Say it enough times and it'll start to sound weird...) Even the most mundane things have some, albeit sometimes minimal, element of risk. Thing is, if you don't take those risks, there will be no LIFE.

What everyone really goes haywire about though, is risk that involves the intangibles; thinking, feeling, being. If I tell everyone at the meeting what my idea is, I might get ridiculed. If I stop to enjoy the moment, I might miss an important phone call. If I choose to fall in love, I might get hurt. YUP. You might. So why would you ever want to stick your neck out if you can just remain comfortably numb?

How do you honestly feel when you deny yourself the opportunity to take a risk? Sit with the last decision you made, where you had the chance of stumbling into the unknown and then you retreated to safe waters. What is speaking to you?

The dang 5.11a! AJ crushed it.
 In trying this exercise myself, it took me a good 10 minutes to find something I hadn't risked recently (yay, I'm growing!). However, on today's climbing escapade, I gave up the very easy and convenient opportunity to try a new 5.11a - of course, now it's all I can think about. I was afraid of being judged by a new group of climbers I didn't know, I was afraid of failing in front of them. I hate this feeling so much that I'm going to go out of my way to do this climb so I can reclaim this chance. I stunted my own growth, I deprived myself of the chance to learn, to be seen, to experience. Inside, I wanted to do the climb because it's a beautiful and challenging line, but I let my doubt and fear get in the way - in short, I lost out on some of LIFE. I will get that LIFE back.

 It's never really about the people who might laugh at you, the ideas that might not work out, the chance of failing or being hurt. We make a big deal out of that stuff, but it's all the work of the ego - it thinks it's looking out for your best interest, but in addition to helping you avoid actual death, it can overstep its bounds and also steal away your chances at LIFE.

 How much risk are you willing to take? How much LIFE are you willing to LIVE?

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