You’re sitting in the small car, hip to hip with a stranger, hands taut, gripping the shoulder harness. You push it out a few times to make sure it’s locked…you do it 5 more times…just in case. Suddenly you jolt forward and your climb to the top of the hill begins.
Click, click, click.
You near the top and your heart starts beating a little faster. A bead of sweat trickles down your lower back. In a fraction of a second you decide if this experience will be excruciating or exhilarating.
Click, click, click.
That one fleeting thought determines if this a terrifying mistake or a thrilling adventure.
Click, click, click.
What will you choose?
Now some of you may be saying “Nancy, I wouldn’t even get on the rollercoaster!” And that’s ok! There are many roller coasters in your life where the thoughts attached to a particular choice either propel you or hold you back. And today I want to talk to you about embracing risk. Taking a small leap and pushing through the discomfort.
Let’s first talk about the word risk. How would you define risk? Because how you think about the word risk may have a profound impact on how you embrace…or avert it. If you think about risk as something scary, a gamble or shot in the dark then it makes sense that risk is something you may avoid. On the roller coaster, your last thought before the drop may sound like this “Holy Sh*t! Why I am I up here? That’s a three story drop!”…and then you squeeze your eyes shut and check your harness again.
But…
What if your definition of risk is more of an untapped opportunity, a venture or possibility? How does that change your experience? Let’s go back up to the top of our roller coaster and this time embrace the experience. As your body starts to shift forward and gravity pulls you into the drop your last thought is “Holy Sh*t! This is awesome!” and you throw your arms up to the sky.
Now let’s unpack this.
Whether you shut your eyes and shut out the experience or embraced the ride with relish, I think we can both agree that in the scope of life a theme park experience may seem inconsequential. It’s a roller coaster…who cares?
But what if your knee-jerk reaction to new or uncomfortable situations is to view them with fear? That is what I want to talk about today because that may be holding you back.
Risk and excuses are very tightly bound. I’ve said before that you can’t change a fact but you can change your thoughts. And risk, just like excuses falls into the thoughts category. So many of our excuses are based on what we’ve experienced in the past. Maybe we had a failure at some point, so we want to avoid that kind of hurt ever again. Hey, I get it! Nobody wants to get hurt. But you can’t live in a plastic bubble either. You have the power to either dance with unknown for a moment or play it safe…and if you’re going to hang out in the safety zone let me ask you this…WHERE HAS PLAYING IT SAFE GOTTEN YOU?
Living a great life requires some risk. The bottom line is this: What’s more of a priority for you—feeling safe, or living the greatest life you could possibly live?
So back to our roller coaster. The roller coaster represents risk. And how you perceive that risk dictates your experience. Just like in life. So today, I want you to think about small things you may be avoiding because you perceive them as scary, unsafe or uncomfortable. I want to invite you to pick one small thing you’ve been avoiding and embrace it. Change your perception and fully experience the pleasure of the ride!
Join the conversation and tell me how you’re going to cozy up to risk today!
