risks.

Some risks are worth taking.

How many times have you heard that? It's a good saying because most people (myself included) don't take enough risks that are worth taking. You know what people don't say though?

Some risks don't work out.

I'm playing devil's advocate for a second. We all want to live in a world where if you finally find the courage to step out and take a risk that it's going to work out. The reality is that that's not the case. Life doesn't give mercy depending on how courageous you are. Would you rather feel the regret of not taking a risk or the pain of it not working out? Which one has a bigger opportunity cost? Let's look at this for a second.

If you always live with the regret of never taking risks that you really want to take then how will that impact the person that you're becoming? I believe that you hold yourself back from getting to know yourself and understanding who you truly are when you avoid taking risks in your life. Essentially, you'll always be living in dogma, meaning you'll always be living someone else's life because you're too scared to create your own (We’re all guilty of this). Taking risks that don’t work out doesn’t mean that you’re not better because of it. If anything, you’ve created more value for yourself because you took a chance, you proved something to yourself, and though one, two, five, ten, or even twenty risks don’t work out, that doesn’t mean that the next one won’t.

Looking through the lens from the other side is completely understandable. We all contemplate decisions, decisions that are unpopular, decisions that are life changing or at least life changing in our eyes, and even simple decisions that offer great possibilities and it takes effort, time, and even courage to take those risks. It’s difficult when you take that risk or make that decision and it ends up not working out the way you thought it would, that crushes people, that makes us doubt our intuition. There’s pain, ahh I hope you guys understand what I mean. There’s a pain that develops when it just doesn't work, and you start to overthink your thought process, why you ended up making the decision that you made, and why you took that risk in the first place.

Okay, so the risk doesn’t work out. Think about the people you met, the conversations you had, the perspectives you gained, the value you shared, the mindset you now have, and the courage you built from taking that risk. Risks aren’t easy to take because we don’t understand what the outcome looks like, if we did then it’d be a simple decision. Be unconventional when you know something is right for you, take a step in the dark, move away from the security of life for a second. Don't worry about your bills for a moment, or the opinions of loved ones, don’t settle on the truths or society that others have created, discover that for yourself. Be vulnerable with people but more importantly be vulnerable with yourself, find happiness through small acts of connection, be selfish in order to understand how to be selfless.

Love yourself before you love someone else.

Everything in life is easier said than done, and I’ve learned that just as much as the next person. When something doesn’t work out that you REALLY wanted to, try to remember to take the next risk that comes up. Keep moving forward, life is the most beautiful thing we have and deserves every second to be explored, tried, and tested.

“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice you have to make. We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.” - Kobe Bryant