"Forever is composed of nows." Emily Dickenson
There's nothing like a life-changing health scare to make you stop and think. Your "woulda-coulda-shouldas" are your regrets -- and the things you have accomplished -- are those memories you savor. When you are alone with your thoughts do you want to be marinating in your excuses or celebrating your braveness?
Not everyone just leaps in to new adventures with both feet forward -- for various reasons. Sometimes people have a real fear of failure. Others are living behind a curtain of lies, a web of deceit that even they aren't fully cognizant of, and don't want to be discovered for who they really are. Still others are paralyzed by the very thought of imperfection. Whatever your reason -- it's not enough to pull yourself out of the game. Only you are capable of benching yourself. Is that how you want to remember your life? As the "he had such potential" guy?
Life is too precious and too short to constantly put off to tomorrow what you could do today. Especially the simple things.
Consider this when you are thinking about trying something new. What's the worst thing that could happen? The absolute worst? Unless death, dismemberment or incarceration is at the end of your thought train -- NOTHING should stop you from trying something new.
Fortunately, I learned this lesson early on. Whether it was food or a career choice, a part in a play or a sport -- I've always been encouraged to just try. I have come to believe that the biggest part of living a good life is just showing up and being present.
I remember being just out of school and I wanting desparately to buy a used car. I was barely covering my rent and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to afford the payments and insurance. My boss at the time, Ann, helped me think through the worst of the worst scenarios. We agreed that if I was in a pickle I might be able to borrow a payment from my dad. If that wasn't an option I could get a third job. And then we finally concluded -- I could always sell the car if I really couldn't find a way to make the payment. ($179/month!!!) I went from agonizing over my decision to enjoying my new found freedom with my purchase. And having the car put me in a position to take a new part time job that paid more per hour than my 9-5! Things all worked out.
Just a few days ago, I thought -- I'm not really a blogger. I truly enjoy writing, but what could I possibly come up with that would be worth reading for 30 consecutive days? I'm busy! I'm not working on anything interesting to share... And then I stepped back and looked deeply in the mirror and thought, "Well, why the heck not?" The worst that could happen is that I'd stop writing and withdraw from the group of colleagues who are also participating in Oscar Gonzalez's 30 Day Blogging Challenge. If that was the worst, then the best was yet to come.
If you're sitting on the fence, wondering if you should do something -- take my Worst Case Scenario test. Then "carpe diem," "just do it," -- NOW!
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