On Life: Taking Risks…

“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.” Katherine Mansfield

On Life: Taking Risks... requires walking through an unknown door

Taking Risks… requires walking through an unknown door
Life itself is a risk… Every time we step outside our door to carry on our daily activities, the potential for harm is increased. Sometimes, we perform actions that carry enormous risks. For instance, participating in high intensity, dangerous activities; drugs, speeding, death-defying sports can cost us our lives. Yet, for those who choose this path, they see no alternative but to seek one adrenaline pumping moment after another.

At other times, we might take a chance to relocate to a new area for a new job, school, a relationship, and risk finding out that we made a mistake. But, unless we try to do the things we fear most and take a chance in life, we limit our opportunities for growth and self-discovery. When I read the Daily Post prompt on the biggest risk I ever took, it made me flash back to my youth; a time when many of us saw ourselves as invincible, and sought endless opportunity for adventure and great risk. I didn’t do anything totally crazy but, like many of my peers, travel and adventure were high on my list.

On Life: Taking Risks... requires stepping outside our comfort zone

Taking Risks… requires stepping outside our comfort zone
When I came to the USA to attend college, I took a huge risk that required I step out of my comfort zone and adjust in a new country; on my own. I was a young, adventurous woman eager to explore new places and, sadly, it meant leaving friends and family behind in London. My dad was not keen on the idea because, even though I had a brother in college in New Jersey, I was not going to attend the same school and I’d be far away from my family. I was eager to try something new and it took some time and effort to adjust to my new world. While I threw myself into life in America, I was not fully prepared for all the challenges my decision would pose. It was a big risk and like any other immigrant, I did wonder, from time to time, if it was the right decision.

If I hadn’t taken the chance to try, I would never have learned how to survive in a new environment and make quick connections with other people. Life is a risk… We learn by doing and if we don’t try new things, we become just another stale cog in the wheel; moving along on the conveyor belt of life; doing the same familiar things… Not much growth in that. Below are two poems on Risk; one by Anais Nin and the other by Miroslav Holub. If we resist walking through the door of life, we never learn its treasures… Some risks are obviously not worth taking… but you get to choose your door. Right? What are your thoughts? What risks have you taken? Regretted? Enjoyed?

Risk by Anais Nin
And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to Blossom.  … More below! 🙂

“Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don’t. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever.”  Philip Andrew Adams

On Life: Taking Risks... is a chance to grow

Taking Risks… is a chance to grow…
If we never take the chance to open the doors that come our way, we never learn its gifts.  Who knows what’s behind each door until we open it..? The doors we open can offer us a great chance, albeit a risky one,  to grow and broaden our perspective of the world we inhabit. Sure, some risks are not worth the door that opens us to them and that is where wisdom, as in good judgment, is needed. But as the saying goes, you never know how well you can handle situations if you always walk away… Try the door and if the price is too high, test another door. What do you think? Below is a terrific poem. Enjoy!

The Door by Miroslav Holub
translated from the Czech by Ian Milner
Go and open the door.
Maybe outside there’s
a tree, or a wood,
a garden,
or a magic city.

Go and open the door.
Maybe a dog’s rummaging.
Maybe you’ll see a face,
or an eye,
or the picture
of a picture.

Go and open the door.
If there’s a fog
it will clear.

Go and open the door.
Even if there’s only
the darkness ticking,
even if there’s only
the hollow wind,
even if
nothing
is there,
go and open the door.

At least
there’ll be
a draught.

Positive Motivation Tip: Choose your door and walk through it; all life is about risk,and until you choose you won’t know the outcome.

Related Articles

• Risks (paehrhardt.wordpress.com)
• 101 Inspirational Quotes to Light Up Your Life (alwayswellwithin.com)
• I’ve Fallen! And I CAN get up! (powerstrengthgrace.wordpress.com)

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: Photo of The gates of paradise via Wikipedia , Esfahan door via Wikipedia, Rurak door in Punjab via Wikipedia
The Door from Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times (2002, Bloodaxe Books) edited by Neil Astley.)

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet