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Why NOT to "play it safe"
I find it quite interesting how many of us (you (my loyal reader)) included choose to "play it safe" in the game of life. Without risk, comes NO opportunity. And thus, now at 29, I have been in a career which I love but also which I have heard people say, "I am stuck here....I have a family and kids and I cannot move on." How awful it must be to feel "stuck" at a job, in a place, or in a state. One of my favorite quotes I recently found this past winter on a magnet stated, "The only obstacle to happiness is reality." Essentially, we all live in our own worlds and I don't see life or its challenges in the same way you do and thank God for that. But in my time of relaxation this past week, I have become certain of two things. One- that without risk, there is no success and two- when hard work meets opportunity, that's what we call luck.
In an age of digital EVERYTHING, fast food restaurants, texting and everything else, I challenge you to spend ONE week - or even THREE days in your room by yourself and turn off all electronic contacts. Eat, sleep, write and think....and you'll be amazed what you learn about yourself in a minimum of three days without the outside world deluding you. Better yet, go to a foreign country, learn the language and try to get a job all on your own. And I can gaurantee that when you come back if only three months later, you will have bettered yourself in more ways than you can imagine. Is this not what Thoreau did when he spent all that time by himself.....and look at the work he produced. So do it- turn off the technology, tell your boss you're taking a break and in those moments when all is quiet, if you're lucky you'll be able to talk to your inner self, essentially, God.
And what of "playing it safe?" It's amazing to think (but more so TO KNOW) just HOW GREAT our abilities as human beings are. The brain/mind IS the most technologically advanced system we have, far more so than our laptops or blackberries. If you knew you could not fail...what would you do? And even if you did fail, it's only another step to greatness.
So, what I know to be truth is that playing it safe and living in the same place, town or having the same job your whole life.....well, that just leaves little room to grow, to learn, and personally, I think that it's the biggest injustice one can do to oneself. So, all of you- spend this week- the last week in February and take a risk. Do something extraordinary. Do something you wouldn't have done before because of fear. And FEAR is the BIGGEST obstacle to opportunity. As the quote says, there are only two words repeated 365 times in the bible, "fear not."
The greatest professor I ever had was my lit. professor in undergraduate school, Dr. Richard Elia. He believed in us. He taught us life lessons via literature. And the one quote I always remembered when he was once talking about English Romanticism was "Always be one upon whom nothing is lost."
In an age of digital EVERYTHING, fast food restaurants, texting and everything else, I challenge you to spend ONE week - or even THREE days in your room by yourself and turn off all electronic contacts. Eat, sleep, write and think....and you'll be amazed what you learn about yourself in a minimum of three days without the outside world deluding you. Better yet, go to a foreign country, learn the language and try to get a job all on your own. And I can gaurantee that when you come back if only three months later, you will have bettered yourself in more ways than you can imagine. Is this not what Thoreau did when he spent all that time by himself.....and look at the work he produced. So do it- turn off the technology, tell your boss you're taking a break and in those moments when all is quiet, if you're lucky you'll be able to talk to your inner self, essentially, God.
And what of "playing it safe?" It's amazing to think (but more so TO KNOW) just HOW GREAT our abilities as human beings are. The brain/mind IS the most technologically advanced system we have, far more so than our laptops or blackberries. If you knew you could not fail...what would you do? And even if you did fail, it's only another step to greatness.
So, what I know to be truth is that playing it safe and living in the same place, town or having the same job your whole life.....well, that just leaves little room to grow, to learn, and personally, I think that it's the biggest injustice one can do to oneself. So, all of you- spend this week- the last week in February and take a risk. Do something extraordinary. Do something you wouldn't have done before because of fear. And FEAR is the BIGGEST obstacle to opportunity. As the quote says, there are only two words repeated 365 times in the bible, "fear not."
The greatest professor I ever had was my lit. professor in undergraduate school, Dr. Richard Elia. He believed in us. He taught us life lessons via literature. And the one quote I always remembered when he was once talking about English Romanticism was "Always be one upon whom nothing is lost."
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by G on -
Marianne Williamson:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
This entry continued ...
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Permalink Reply by G on
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James F. Bymes:
Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death
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Permalink Reply by G on
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Ernest Becker:
[W]e now know that the human animal is characterized by two great fears that other animals are protected from: the fear of life and the fear of death... Heidegger brought these fears to the center of his existential philosophy. He argued that the basic anxiety of [humanity] is anxiety about being-in-the-world, as well as anxiety of being-in-the-world. That is, both fear of death and fear of life, of experience and individuation.
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