Taking ChancesTime and again I have avoided small chances for fear of failure. Thinking back to school dances, I would avoid asking a girl to dance for fear I would be rejected. And most of the time you wouldn't find me at a dance anyway because I didn't even want to face the possibility that I might want to ask a girl to dance. Besides, I was never much of a dancer--guess I didn't want to take the chance to learn to be at least passable at dancing.
It's been the little things like that in my life that I have avoided because there seemed to be a risk of some kind involved. Yet when it came to some of my biggest decisions like taking out on the road with a touring show or relocating two thousand miles to live in Los Angeles, I made my decision without much consideration of things like failure or disappointment. I just did it because it seemed like something I wanted to do.
Maybe I've fretted too much about the small choices--the things with mostly temporal effects and outcomes. Perhaps it's part of being a dreamer with big dreams. The minor dreams seemed to get in the way of where I wanted to go without any consideration on my behalf that those little dreams are just diversions along life's journey.
These days I'm not overly concerned about taking chances because there aren't that many I have to face. Other than the risks of getting out of bed in the morning or driving to the store or the daily stuff of life, most potential risks are things I might fantasize about while never having to face the reality of those thoughts.
Maybe it's time for taking real chances. I could try to turn dreams to reality and failure be damned. I'm getting too old to worry about failure. All of my years of living so far should count toward something. Surely I've learned a few things.
Do you wanna dance? Might as well get out on the floor and take a chance.
Are you a risk taker? What is your biggest deterrent to taking chances?--Fear of failure? Success? Facing ridicule?
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