Life and Risks

Give up? Me? HA! I laugh at the thought!

Whether it is from the pinewood derby events from childhood, programming, or biking, the lesson is the same: giving up gets you nowhere! Although it might look real good at the time – giving up always leaves an aftertaste of regret.

So why give up? 

For me the answer lies in fear of failure. Think of “Man vs Fear” and how I basically gave up because I was afraid of failing.  I’ve noticed, however, that some failure doesn’t bother me, and most of the time I’ll keep on pushing hard even though failure seems imminent.

Most of these come in the form of competitions. If I’m in – I AM IN! Even if I’m in last place, I’ll do my best until I finish. I’m not afraid to push the envelope or step outside my comfort zone to win. Don’t get me wrong – I handle losing just fine. We’re well acquainted, but regardless of not winning, I still find satisfaction in knowing I did my absolute best. Now this applies well with competitions and games, but I find a problem when the game focuses in on the social arena.

Fears in the Social Arena:

Here is where I become paralyzed the most, where I feel anxiety as I think of/attempt to push past my comfort zone, and here is where I often quit before I even get started.  Having reflected on this, I believe I am scared of what people, who don’t know me, think of me. How debilitating! The people who matter the least cause the most stress! My friends know me well enough to have a good understanding of my character, values, likes, dislikes, strengths – who I really am, that I’m not concerned with what they might think of me if I act crazy or do something really random or spontaneous. My family and really close friends – even more so! Because they know who I really am, I am not concerned.

So now what?

Well the buck stops here!

I declare independence from my fear of the opinions of the masses! 

I will no longer let them have control over me 

(even if they happen to be awesome available women that I’m interested in)! 

NO MORE!

From now on I declare war on my small comfort zone, 

war on my debilitating and unnecessary reservations!  

 War on the fear that has been holding me back!

I know that victory won’t be easy, but nothing worth doing is EVER easy.
It will take time. I will fall, but more importantly, I will stand back up.
Giving up is not an option.
Giving up gets me nowhere.
I’m done with the aftertaste of regret.
Time to take chances, get messy, and make mistakes!
(Thank you Magic School Bus.)

Look out world because Ogden is out!

 Here is a video I found a few years ago that I really enjoy. It goes along with this theme.