Risk taking, dream making

I've been thinking a lot about taking risks lately. While I was in Tanzania I presented to a local chapter of Rotary International. They had several issues of The Rotarian strewn about and one particular issue caught my eye. The catch phrase on the front cover boldly says "WAKE UP AND LIVE YOUR DREAMS". The picture on the cover is that of a middle-aged man asleep in a chair holding a book who's title is Face Fear. The cover really grabbed my attention, so I asked if I could take a copy. I even brought the magazine back to the States with me! It sat in the corner of my room throughout the entire six-ish months I sat at home stewing over life, freaked out and confused about what to do next! So sad!

Anyways, I brought the magazine with me and just recently read the main article titled The Rewards of Risk by Frank Bures. I have searched and searched all over the internet, but cannot find a copy of the article to share here! It is short and succinct, but absolutely fantastic. So, if you happen to have the January 2013 edition of The Rotarian sitting around, I strongly suggest you whip out the magazine and read the article yourself!

The writer starts with the statement "What's the greatest threat to the pursuit of happiness? Doing nothing." Whoa. So true, right? (If you're not sure, just trust me on this one.) Burns discusses another author, Dave Freeman, who is an author of 100 Things to do Before You Die. Unfortunately, Freeman died at the young age of 47, having only completed about half of the things on the list. Bures, however, argues that although he did not complete every item on his "bucket list", it is worth noting that he at least had the courage to try. That "...not taking risks...is the greatest risk of all."

All of this got me thinking a lot about my own life and about the risks that I have taken, especially in the past year. Before I actually quit my job in DC, I had been thinking about doing it for quite a while. I would call home and tell my mom that I wanted to do something more hands-on "in the field", which for me would not involve a salary. Of course, up until the right opportunity came up I felt like she'd always get after me! (I did have a pretty good gig, after all!)

A few months before I quit working as a contractor for the Office of Foreign Disaster Assitance (OFDA) I remember going out with a couple of my co-workers, Jackie and Kristina. We took a little break from work for hot chocolate and the national Christmas (and state) trees. (Amazing, right? I sorta miss DC...) Both girls happen to be LDS "young single adults" too, so we have a lot in common. We were having our last hurrah - Jackie was quitting her current job to pursue her "dream-job". (Kristina coincidentally got me interested in HELP-International...we both followed Jackie's lead and quit a couple months later! She ended up in Belize for the summer and hiked Mt. Kili with me). Jackie had mentioned that she had talked about leaving her full-time, steady job with her boss, who was also a co-worker of mine. (At the time he was on the cusp of retirement, so we're talking years of wisdom here.) He told her to go for it and basically told her the most interesting people one meets at parties are not the ones who have worked at the same old job for 30 some-odd years. That really made me think and it must have made me think A LOT, because I haven't sat at a desk since! Ha! (Also... yikes!)

Back to the article. In his book, Farley apparently described two types of people. Big-T people are people who seek challenges and enjoy the thrill of seeing what they are capable of. Small-T people live their lives confounded by fear - the fear of failure, humiliation, pain, etc. This revelation has also had me thinking and wondering if I am a Big-T or Small-T type individual. If you know me at all, you know that my number one fear is failure. Overcoming fear is such a huge challenge for me...and yet I have done some pretty intense things! When I think back on the past year of my life, however, I have been really blessed.  It hasn't been easy, but I think I've gotten exactly what I've wanted out of life! I'm so grateful for these experiences that I'm having specifically at this time in life when I am able to have such adventures. I have a feeling I have a few more coming up - especially since I am not entirely sure what the heck I'll be doing or where I'll be living when I get back! (Ahhhhh...!) I guess the point is I am trying to learn to face uncertainty and fear with a different attitude. Lately I've been trying to focus on the excitement that goes along with the fear of the unknown, rather than the fear itself. We'll see if I can keep that up! I would encourage you, my readers, to as well. (Few as you may be!) Live your dreams, be willing to let go, and be willing to take risks - whether regarding relationships, careers, or life in general!

Okay. Now watch (or listen to rather) to this excellent vid of the song Beautiful Unknown off of Ingrid Michaelson's upcoming album! It's related (you know...the unknown...) and is SO good. (I just love old Ingrid. She gets me every time! Ha.)



XOXO