Taking Chances

“The only regret we have is chances we did not take,” as saying goes.

This is so true.  We go day by day routinely, doing things we usually do, and we feel so comfortable because it is so familiar.  Sometimes, new opportunities present themselves, but we’re either blind to them, or we are afraid to take chances.  So, we ignore them, and again we go day by day.  Yet, we dream for more.  Dreaming alone is not enough.  Why is it so hard to take chances?  The reasons probably are:

1) We think of everybody else first;

2) We think we are not worth it;

3) We think we are not good enough;

4) We are too shy;

5) We are too comfortable;

6)  We are afraid of change.

What if we would be brave to take those chances, regardless?  How we would feel?  Most likely, powerful.  We would make our dreams come true.

But, what if we took some chances and it did not work?  Did we think it was a failure and we stopped trying?  If it did not work at first time, we got to think of it as first step.  First, we got to learn how to crawl before we can learn how to walk.  Also, we should stop “trying.” We got to be “doing.”  Trying will never work.

To be braver each day to take actions, I suggest to start “Taking Chances” journal.  List each day how brave you were by taking new chances.  It will take you out of comfort zone, but it will be worth it.

The keys are:

1) Who cares what others think

2) Always trust your instincts – your inner guide

3) You are good enough and so much worth it.

We are the ones who build our lives for ourselves.  So, what are you going to take a chance on today?

For more inspiration, you can read about famous book rejections that with persistence turned out a HUGE success later:

Famous Book Rejections

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Being Open-Minded

It is interesting how we base most of our decisions on the past.  Starting with basics, like buying new clothes or jewelry to picking out partners, to having the same job we chose when we were eighteen years old.  We love familiar and comfortable.  Most of us do not like change.  Unfamiliar scares us.  So, we get stuck in the routine, wearing our comfortable clothes, tiny chain with pendant (that you can barely see), keep meeting people that resemble our past, and we get stuck doing the same job we know for years.  We tell ourselves, it worked before, worked in the past, so why change it?  If it is not broken, why fix it? So we keep going in circles, but we keep going…

Pretty boring, ah?  But it is familiar.  Well, if we do not want to grow and learn new things, and experience life, that’s fine.  It is a safe way of living.  For those who want to get out of boring routine, to wake up to life, to risk in order to learn something new, here is a suggestion:  be open-minded.  Sure, it is easier to live by our set-up rules and opinions.  Now, unless we’re open-minded, we never know what we can learn and experience.  We might be surprised.  It is not necessary to change a whole life.  All I suggest is to change the attitude in everything we do: be open-minded.

If someone suggests you different clothes or bigger expressive necklace, try it.  You might enjoy the bolder look.  What you wear is what you are.  Express how you feel inside.  If you feel boring, that’s how you will project yourself to the world.  Change your attitude to adventurous and fun, and dress like it.  Experiment with new, unfamiliar.  Be wild.  Be open-minded to how you want to feel, and dress the part.  Now if you surprise someone, or even shock, just laugh about it.  If you feel self-confident in who you are, it does not matter what other people think.  The most important is how you feel.

photo courtesy of daliakoss.com

Relationship-wise, we usually keep attracting people who are reminders of our past.  Say, we break-up with someone, or someone broke our hearts.  For awhile, we keep seeing that person everywhere in strangers:  their appearance, their manners, the way they walk, talk, etc., etc.  We know that’s not the same person, but we keep being reminded of him or her.  Some of us might even fall in the same trap: start dating or even marry the same version of (insert name here) or (name) in disguise.

I believe we all have a built-in radar.  If we learn from our past mistakes, we can follow this radar to give us warnings as “red flags,” that we should never ignore.  Be open-minded in meeting different kinds of people, even outside our comfort zones (more smarter than us, more attractive than us, more… than us).   The key is to know what we want and don’t fall for the first one who resembles familiar, our past.  Unless we’re open-minded, we never know who we would meet.  He or she might challenge us, but it will be worthwhile.

Job-wise, some of us may be stuck in the same job we thought will be good for us since we were 18 years old.  Some of us are happy with it which is great.  Sometimes teens do know everything.  However, some of us are miserable doing the same thing over and over, year after year.  We console ourselves with a great pay, benefits: insurance, vacation time or we’re just grateful to have a job, yet deep inside, we’re miserable.  We know we are worth more.  We know what our passions are.  Yet we stick with familiar, and we torture ourselves with “what ifs…”, hoping that we will be happy and make a change “one day” that never comes.

Now, if we open our minds and follow our hearts, we may turn our hobby into profession, or find a new hobby outside our job.  What are you passionate about?  What you always wanted to learn?  Do it now.  “Some day” as you know, will never come.  The time to do it is now.  Most importantly, not only do it, share with people what you’re passionate about.  You never know, you might make the right connection.  Keep sharing and be open-minded in everything you do.  What surprise is waiting around the corner?  Only for you to find out.  Without a risk, you don’t drink the champagne…

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