It is Time to Take Risks

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”   William Shedd

How many risks would you say you’ve taken in your life?  And of these risks, how many would you classify as “major” risks?  Taking risks is scary for many reasons however I believe taking risk are important and are necessary for us to reach our full potential and satisfaction in life. 

Did you know one of the number one regrets from older people who are near death is “failing to take more risks?”  Why is this?  Perhaps it is because it is human nature to want to avoid them.  Often we feel we should do them but actually getting ourselves to do it is hard.  We fear change and naturally fall on the side of caution.  We get in a comfort zone and don’t want to get out of it.  We want to stay safe in the harbor when really we were built to venture out to sea.  I believe it is time to take risks. 

Today more than ever it seems extra dangerous to take risk however I believe today more than ever it is dangerous not to take them.  Taking intelligent risk, even if they do not turn out as planned, leads to greater confidence and satisfaction in life.    

So what are we waiting for?  If you’ve been feeling for some time that you need to do something a little risky, do it!   And I’m sure you will feel much better afterward.  Intelligent risk takers have much more success and satisfaction in life.  Don’t become a ship that stays only in the harbor; we were made for more than that, we were made to explore!      

Find Yourself!

The Following Blog is a Burntham.com rewind--orginally posted in Oct 21, 2010

“Strength isn’t something you have, it is something you find, usually one day at a time.”
Author Unknown

We often hear phrases such as “he’s a natural,” “she was born that way,” and “he’s just lucky” when referring to successful people. Many times we make the false assumption that people are just naturally talented or are naturally given something that we simply don’t have. Though I believe we all have different talents, interests, and abilities, I also believe that each of us has the capacity to be great.

The quote at the top of the blog illustrates something interesting. First, strength, or intelligence, or wisdom, or success, or courage, or really anything is not something automatically given to us but rather it is something we find through our actions day in and day out. We ultimately decide what we are!

For example, we wouldn’t say someone has strength unless we were aware of some things the person did that demonstrated strength. Or we wouldn’t call Michael Jordan a great basketball player if he had never picked up a ball. It was only after he practiced, played, worked-hard, and eventually proved himself to be worthy to be called a great basketball player that everyone recognized him as such.

Likewise, people are not given success, or strength, or courage, or wisdom rather they earn it by their actions. We don’t know we are a strong person until we overcome something that is difficult and prove it. Hence, we find our talents or good qualities as we practice them, usually one day at a time. Sure strength or courage may be a gift of ours that comes easier than other things, but if we do not exercise that gift, than are we really courageous or strong? We find our gifts and we find who we are in the “doing”.

For this reason each day is meaningful because it is a new challenge and a new opportunity for us to develop into the person we want to become. We aren’t necessarily automatically given who we are but we have the ability to create and find who we are. We can find strength, courage, success, or just about anything through our daily actions. Good traits are not automatic, we have to work at them and use them before we know we have them. And if we are not currently the person we want to be, or think we are, we have the power to change by altering our actions.

So what will you find today? Will you find strength, confidence, or success? Really, it is up to you. We have the power to shape our lives and become who we want to be! Because ___________________(fill in the blank) is not something we have, but _________________(fill in the blank) is something we find, usually one day at a time.

The Secret to Instant Happiness

“We don’t need to wait to be happy until we reach some future point; happiness is already available to us—all the time.”  Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Basically from the beginning of time, the pursuit of happiness has been one of mankind’s greatest quests.  People have long tried to find true joy and happiness in life.  Today, I believe this desire for happiness persists and perhaps the search for it is more widespread and diverse now than ever before. 

The reality is most of us do not allow ourselves to be happy.  Instead we like to fool ourselves in to believing that happiness will someday come as if it is some type of destination or switch that is flipped once we arrive at some place in time.   We tell ourselves, “once I have a new job”, or “get a promotion”, or “have X amount of money”, or “get married”, or “retire”, or “go on vacation”, then will I be happy.  We delay our happiness and pin it on some future event in life.   When we do this, often times, happiness never really comes. 

Instead of holding off on our happiness until some specific event occurs we should decide to be happy now.  This is not always easy but is possible.  I believe regardless of our current circumstances or where we are currently in our journey of life we can be happy now if we choose to be. 

Happiness is in fact a choice and we are ultimately in charge of it.  We can actually decide to be happy or not even before the promotion, money, marriage, etc.  Again too often we do not allow ourselves to be happy.  We delay it, put it off, or look to justify why we cannot.  Sometimes this is because of our culture or our society that tells us we cannot be happy if this or that happens or until we have this or that.  Believing these lies will surely lead to unhappiness but if we can see them for what they are, we can be happy without delay. 

Each and every day, no matter the current difficulties in life, we can find things to be grateful for if we want to.  When we are grateful, we are happy.  Each day we can find good things around us.  And when we focus on the good rather than the bad, we can be happy.  Each day we can find things that can fill our hearts with joy if we allow them to, and when we do, we can be happy.  Because of this, we can be happy now—there is no need to wait. 

Happiness is a choice and we are ultimately responsible for it in our lives.  If we are happy, great!!  If we are not, why?  Waiting to be or delaying happiness is silly.  So let’s not wait—choose to be happy now!            

Failure is not an Option

“Failure is not falling down, it is staying down.”  Author Unknown

Whether we want to accept it or not, we all experiencesetbacks or fall down in our life.  Thisis one of life’s guarantees.  Often timesthese challenges are self-inflicted or caused by our own actions but many timesthey are not.  And sometimes we can seethem coming but more often we do not.  The interesting thing about life is that it seems to always reward thepersistent and those who keep trying regardless of the setbacks we face inlife.

When setbacks, trials, or challenges come in to our life webasically have two options.  We cancomplain and give up or we can grin and press forward.  Though not easy, failure is not the fallingdown or being knocked off course, it is how we react when we do fall.  We can stay down or we can get back up.  Those who always get back up can never bedefeated. 

Too often I meet people who are filled with bitterness,anger, or disappointment because like all of us they have fallen down.  Life has dealt them a difficult hand and theyquestion why.  Instead of getting up theystay down and make excuses why they cannot advance.  Rather than question and give up we must moveforward with faith that one day things will be made right, and we will enjoythe fruits of our efforts.

Getting up and moving on in life is much easier to writethan to actually do.  It takes consciouseffort, faith, courage, confidence, hope, and real stamina and discipline.  Life can be extremely difficult, cruel, andcold yet if we can learn to get back up each time we get knocked down, we willfind much more success and happiness in life. 

In the end, if we fail in life, it is because we have chosenit.  I believe each of us has the powerwithin us, no matter how difficult it may be, to get back up each time we falldown.  By doing this we can ensure thatfailure is not an option.