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Photo by eschipul
 

“I want to live in Hawaii and live happily ever after”  A friend of mine once told me. 

(Humoring him) “Alright.” I said.

“I just have to wait till the time is right” He added

“So when is the right time?”  I asked him.

“Once I get my ducks in a row.”  He replied

“When will that happen? ”  I asked.

“When I tidy up some loose ends.” He said

(Getting annoyed) “Sigh..and when will that happen?”

“I don’t know, I’m just afraid I might f%# it all up”

It was at this point that I slapped him upside the head.

We first had this conversation in 1997 and he would bring it up every year.  Every year he puts it off again, and every year I slap him upside the head as a motivational tool.  Like the changing of the leaves in the fall, it became a recurring phenomena.  

Looking back on it now, whacking him in the noggin was not the most constructive thing I could’ve done (however satisfying it may have been).  It does present an opportunity to write about taking risks, something that I’ve been putting off for a while now :)

Let’s face it, there are some aspects of our existence that we would like to modify.  Some popular ones are but are not limited to:

  • Finances: An opportunity to make more money.
  • Relationships: Fix one, end one, start one (or 2 or 3 ^_^).
  • Innovation: A groundbreaking idea or an improvement on an existing one.

But the timing isn’t right, you don’t have enough money, or you’re just not ready yet.  These are some of the excuses that we use to put it off.  So we put it off for a few days.  Which turn into weeks, months, and years.  Next thing you know it’s 2004 and you’re coming over to your friends house for an annual slap-a-thon.

So why do we put these things off?  Based on my unscientific research (asking friends and family) as to why, I’ve been told that they:

  • Were afraid to get turned down
  • Were afraid to lose money
  • Were afraid to get embarrassed
  • Were afraid to fail

While there are many other reasons as to why people procrastinate to take action, there is an underlying element of fear.  And while fear is a great motivator to play it safe,  I present you with an even greater motivator not to…

Regret.

That’s right dear reader.  If you think you’re sparing yourself from pain by not doing you are quite mistaken.  A life filled with regret is much, much  worse.  The pain of not knowing what might have been - the “Couda, wouda, shouda” complex.

Think about the following people and how their lives, and by extension ours been different if they didn’t take risks of because of fear.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. (civil rights)
  • Bill Gates (computers and the digital age)
  • Albert Einstein (theory of relativity and it’s applications - both good and bad)
  • Alexander Fleming (penicillin)
  • Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone)
  • Henry Ford (assembly lines and mass production)
  • Thomas Edison (an economically viable light bulb among other things)

And so on.

Now I’m not saying that these people didn’t have fear.  I’m sure they felt fear and doubt at one point or another before making their breakthroughs.  The important thing is that they understood the risks, but also knew the rewards that would be waiting at the end if they succeeded.  And that was enough for them to soldier on.  And it should be for you and me too :)

Realize in life dear reader that in order for you to improve upon yourself you have to go out of your comfort zone.  To leave the familiarity of what you are used to and explore the unknown.  That is how you grow.  While you should always excercise caution and good judgement, don’t take it to the extreme that you avoid taking risks alltogether.  Note the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose.

Armed with this knowledge, next time an opportunity presents itself (a beautiful stranger, an opportunity to make money, an idea that you think may change the world) look at and acknowledge the the risk that you may fail.  But focus on what you have to gain - everything.

Which one would you rather have - some failures on your belt or a life full of regret?

And as for my friend, he moved to Hawaii in 2004, found the love of his life, got married, and are now expecting their second child.  Not bad for a guy that I used to whack on the noggin, right?

And for you procrastinators out there, check out Tina Su’s article on “The Panacea for Putting Things Off”

Thanks for reading.