{"id":29081,"date":"2018-11-02T20:39:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-03T02:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/?p=29081"},"modified":"2023-02-24T10:03:34","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T17:03:34","slug":"take-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/take-chances\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Chances and Stare Fear in the Face"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In my life, the most profound of lessons have come from the unlikeliest of people and often at the most unsuspecting of times. There is much to learn in life \u2013 you just have to be a willing student. Personally, I\u2019ve found that my greatest lessons have come in the form of \u201cmistakes\u201d or \u201cfailures\u201d. Rather, they\u2019ve come in the form of what society deems to be mistakes or failures.<\/p>\n

Society has taught\u00a0us to live within a certain standard, to \u201cplay it safe\u201d,\u00a0and to be risk-adverse. And, in complete compliance, most\u00a0of us do just that. We live within our safe bubbles, never daring to do more than obtain a four-year degree and work an 8 to 5 job that we don\u2019t particularly enjoy. This life is dull but this life is also \u201csafe\u201d. Before you read on, let me ask you this: what exactly are \u201cmistakes\u201d and \u201cfailures\u201d and what does the word \u201csafe\u201d really mean? Why aren\u2019t you allowed to decide this for yourself? The fact is, you are. Unfortunately, as a society, we\u2019ve\u00a0been programmed to conform to someone else\u2019s definitions of these words.<\/p>\n

Safety is a Lie<\/em><\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I certainly acknowledge and understand why we are afraid to deviate from the norm. It\u2019s uncomfortable. Perhaps even scary. Not to mention, the potential scrutiny from your family, friends, and neighbors would be too much to bear. However, if you want to grow, discomfort is part of the process. Albert Einstein, renowned to be one of the smartest and most influential figures in our history said, \u201cthe definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.\u201d This applies to each and every one of us \u2013 no matter how many times you add two and two you\u2019ll never get five.<\/p>\n

Do you know anyone who consistently achieves results which they, themselves, deem to be unsatisfactory but refuse to do anything different because of fear and insecurity? Are you one of them? If you answered yes, don\u2019t fret. You\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

Whether by societal, cultural, or familial influence, we have been taught to believe that the fear of failure protects us from failure. This is one of life\u2019s biggest lies. You will fail in life. It\u2019s inevitable. It\u2019s how you react to failure that actually matters. Always staying in the safe zone is actually quite\u00a0dangerous. It leads to dissatisfaction, unhappiness, depression, and anger with oneself and others. I\u2019ve seen it happen. I know you have too. By playing it safe you are a spectator to your own life.<\/p>\n

Simply put, to grow and to develop, you must\u00a0stray from the safe comfort zone and risk failure. It\u2019s scary, I get it. Sometimes you just have to take chances and stare fear in the face.<\/p>\n

Redefining \u201cFailure\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

I can sum up my life in a few words: it\u2019s not easy and, at times, it\u2019s extremely uncomfortable. But, it\u2019s thrilling and I love it. In my journey, I\u2019ve made decisions that society, family, and friends have deemed to be too \u201crisky\u201d and \u201cdaring\u201d. Those closest to me are always trying to talk me out of my \u201cobsession\u201d. I\u2019ll listen but, unless they present a very compelling argument, I just brush it off. Why? I\u2019ve learned that the ones who try the hardest to stop you from doing something bold are typically the same ones who despise their own direction and have already submitted to complacency. Why would I listen to those who aren\u2019t satisfied with their own lives when I strive to be satisfied with my own? Why would I listen to those who are afraid to push their boundaries when I strive to be the best that I can be? (I know I sound cynical but, believe me, there is support out there. I have plenty.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be the first to admit that I\u2019ve made bad decisions. Plenty of them. That\u2019s just the nature of business. That\u2019s just the nature of life. But, as it pertains to learnings, lessons, and growth, I always gain more from decisions that don\u2019t necessarily yield the expected result. Through someone else\u2019s lens, this is \u201cfailure\u201d. Through my lens, I see something completely different. I don\u2019t believe in failure. In fact, I\u2019ve redefined my definition of failure.\u00a0If I\u2019ve applied the appropriate and necessary due diligence<\/em>, I didn\u2019t fail. I learned a lesson.\u00a0I simply take a \u201cback-to-the-drawing-board\u201d approach, revise, and correct until I do achieve the expected result. The point is\u00a0if I truly believe in something and\u00a0if I\u2019ve applied the appropriate and necessary due diligence,<\/em>\u00a0I would prefer to put the notion of safety on the line, stare fear in the face and take a leap of faith.<\/p>\n

Expect More of Yourself \u2013 Set Goals<\/em><\/h3>\n

Many people cringe when they hear the term \u201cgoals\u201d. Why? For these people, setting goals means the potential for failure.<\/p>\n

Goals don\u2019t have to be grandiose life goals. They don\u2019t have to be monetary goals. They don\u2019t have to be career goals. To set goals simply means to expect more of yourself and then holding yourself accountable by measuring your progress against the predetermined metric. Relax. They are\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0goals. They are completely personal and you are only competing against yourself.
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Don\u2019t get me wrong, as mentioned before, you will face discomfort. That\u2019s a part of it. Whether you want to lose or gain weight, learn a new language, start a new blog, you must\u00a0be willing to face some discomfort. Discomfort is a sign that you\u2019re doing the right things; that you\u2019re progressing. You should also accept that you will face objection and opposition. Even though they are personal goals, there will\u00a0always<\/em>\u00a0be those who want to convince you that your goals are stupid or unobtainable. Ignore them. It\u2019s human nature to try and suppress others who are doing things that they, themselves, don\u2019t have the discipline or the guts to do. This is just noise.<\/p>\n

As I eluded to earlier, there is plenty of support out there. However, you may have to look outside of your immediate group.<\/em><\/p>\n

5 Actions You Need to Take Immediately<\/em><\/h3>\n

Here are 5 things that I suggest you do to get the most out of life:<\/p>\n

1) Identify your passion(s) \u2013 doesn\u2019t it just make sense that you get more out of life if you do the things you love?<\/p>\n

2) Find a mentor \u2013 learning from someone who has more life experience or experience in your field of interest is one of the most practical things you can do.<\/p>\n

3) Find a mentee \u2013 your ability to help others is a luxury that can\u2019t be overlooked. If you don\u2019t believe you qualify, know that everyone has something to contribute.<\/p>\n

4) Set goals \u2013 know that you can do better and then hold yourself accountable. Reward yourself if you achieve that goal. Reward yourself for learning a lesson if you didn\u2019t achieve that goal.<\/p>\n

5) Take risks \u2013 be bold. If life isn\u2019t going the way that you had once imagined, make a plan, exercise the appropriate due diligence, and take a leap of faith.<\/p>\n

GET ON IT!<\/em><\/h3>\n

Too many people sit and watch their lives go by. Don\u2019t be one of them. Life is real short and real dull that way. I implore you to not be a spectator to your own life but be the leading character. Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them. Set goals. Have dreams. Take chances. Take action. You won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my life, the most profound of lessons have come from the unlikeliest of people and often at the most unsuspecting of times. There is much to learn in life \u2013 you just have to be a willing student. Personally, I\u2019ve found that my greatest lessons have come in the form of \u201cmistakes\u201d or \u201cfailures\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":29082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255],"tags":[461,460],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29081"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41288,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29081\/revisions\/41288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evolutionvn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}