taking chances .

I think that I've always sort of had risk embedded into my blood. I like to jump in and go all or nothing on something, and not really half-ass anything. That being said, sometimes that's a good thing and other times it's a bad thing. It really depends on the situation. And yet, even if everything turns out terrible and the shit hits the fan beyond belief, I think I'm always better for the experience.


I have a feeling that I'm going the end up sounding very generally vague in this post, but sometimes that's just how it needs to be. Sometimes stories aren't meant to be told, but simply reflected upon.

So taking a chance. There's a little bit of chance in everything. You never know fully what's going to happen, and you're never quite sure of the way things will turn out in the end. Will it be better? Will it be worse? Will it enrich your life in a way that nothing else can, or will everything crash and burn and you be left in tears?

Fear is what boils your blood when risk presents itself. Fear of the unknown, fear of the possibility of failures of various types, fear of failing yourself, fear of disappointing someone, fear of being rejected, fear of injury or worse, fear of anything and everything. If you let it, your imagination can run rampant through an infinite number of possibilities that you could logically build an argument around to prevent yourself from taking the risk, taking the plunge.

And yet, it's an incredible feat to be able to process all of that, push it aside, and decide to go through anyways. It's amazing that the way our minds work allow us to evaluate all possibilities and potential scenarios (well, maybe not all, but a good number) and even if our natural instinct determines that it's best to forego the experience, our minds can decide that we can go for it anyways.

My question is, where is the drive behind such a seemingly crazed decision? Is it just that you feel so strongly for one choice that you know you'd never forgive yourself if you didn't go for it? Good possibility, I think. Is it that you've held it in so long that it's just time to come out? Also probable. Perhaps maybe you're just one of those people who finds it very easy to ignore everything and just do what you want to do.

Of most recent, I've found that holding things in makes it that much harder to go through with things. And while the end effect may be something you weren't expecting and took you by surprise, I am still mildly proud that I could overcome all of that built up anxiety about it. Letting loose and just doing what feels right really is a cathartic moment, and can release some tension. Lord knows, we all need to release some tension...

And as I'd like to "take a risk" (ha, how appropriate) to become more involved and conversational with readers, I'd like to pose a few questions that you are welcome to answer as you please. What are the sorts of things that you've taken a risk on lately? What was the main driving force behind it all? Did you take the risk even after trying to convince yourself that logically there was a bigger chance something would go wrong?