“Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”, said the infamous Helen Keller. Her quote poses the question, what is life, really, if there is no risk involved? So often I see people falling into and staying in, a state of comfort and security, but I wonder if they aren’t seeking more. An individual can take chances in all areas of their life. As a human being we all take gambles in relationships, in our jobs and even for us college students…. in our schoolwork. As a designer and artist, I believe that in order for you to create something that is truly captivating and unique, you have to be willing to try new things, and know that it’s okay if it doesn’t always yield the outcome that you want.
I am not always successful in my endeavors, but they help me to learn what works a certain way and what doesn’t. Individuals who are regarded, as pioneers in their respective fields did not get where they are by simply playing it safe and doing exactly what was they were told. Now I’m not saying they were lawbreakers, but they were “game changers” because they were willing to push past their fears and simply go after what they wanted. In the most recent article that I wrote, I spoke about Suzanne Shank, who is basically the first African American trillionaire. She did not get to where she is by playing everything safe. She left the security that her civil engineering degree had offered her to pursue finance. She took a gamble. She was not sure what would happen after she completed her studies, but she did it anyway, and years later she’s reaping the benefits. Being willing to put yourself in a position of uncertainty takes courage and regardless of what happens you can take comfort in knowing that you tried and would have no regrets moving forward. If you begin viewing everything as a learning experience, the way in which you approach challenges that you encounter would more than likely change also. I’m not saying that it would be easy, but it would become easier for you to be open to following through on risky ideas that would possibly produce a rather favorable product.
If you were to evaluate your life up to this point, would you say that the amount of times that you have “lived on the edge” outnumbers the times that you have settled? If that answer is a no, then let today be the start of a new way of living. Everyone has some sort of bucket list, whether they are written down physically on paper or mentally in the mind. Only those that are willing to crawl out of their safety net will really achieve all of what they seek in life. Every day should be a step towards achieving, either a short term of long-term goal. Why settle when you were meant to have so much more? Take a deep breath and make that leap!
Courtesy of: Joshua Earle (Unsplash)