Your choice of being one amongst many or just stand out.
In the world that I am in, there are sufficient number of people who have already labeled me as crazy as the primary force that drives most people to lead their lives in an established and predictable pattern is something that never hitched on to me. Though to this day I am not really sure if it is a good or a bad thing. There definitely are times when I question some of my daredevilry. I know of many friends and acquaintances who consciously opt for safer and prudent choices leading to a protected life. I am not very sure of what happens to excitement or surprise elements in their lives, but I know they do miss all the adrenalin rush and chills of risking things.
I have always been a lobbyist of the unconventional doers, the one who has respected differentiated opinions but only listened to the gut. No, was never the rebel types or a blazing revolutionist criticizing everything that came my way, but believed in moving along amicably while duly factoring every aspect, both tangible and intangible.
To quote an incident from when I was 21, I moved my financially burdened family from a sheltered housing to a leased livelihood. With tiny siblings, a father who had lost his source of income and an unwell mother, I felt that was a brave move. Another incident was when my father was seriously wounded but in a recovering mode, I flew him to the US on a wheel chair and a scarily bandaged foot to aid recovery and bring a breath of fresh air. Although it was a medically approved travel, for an incision deeper than an inch and no movements whatsoever, that definitely was a bold call. There are many more such unusual epidoes in my personal and professional life when I have risked decisions averse of sound and ordinary choices. As I look back, some worked out brilliantly and some turned to be disastrous.
Taking chances exposes you to the world of insecurity and uncertainty. Doing something opposite to normalcy dictates fear and vulnerability. Knowing you could have chosen an easy way out but yet you jeopardize that stability, demands serious guts — please note that it is understood the due diligence of health and safety has been adequately validated and that all dependencies are favorable— hence I consider it as something on the lines of being audaciously courageous with heroic bravery. I am no where close to that kind of courageousnes or bravery, but there are so many examples of such eccentric people in the world who have taken the tougher route and done things strikingly opposite to what a judicious or measured person will do. Most often than not these risk-takers are the ones who carve the way and perhaps become trail blazers.
I personally find the whole risk-taking process very gratifying. It demands creativity and resilience at many levels. You tend to move away from what you already know and willing to take the leap. You do not necessarily wait to follow some footsteps and you tend to test your own limits. There is a lot that one learns and unlearns as you move forward on an unsettling path. Becoming a better person is also when you are continually persistent and willing to make mistakes. Accepting and acknowledging that you had an option but yet you are okay to endure the possibility of failure makes you way more stronger. It builds your Spirit.
This is not to say the ones making safer or protected choices in life are less in any form, infact perhaps they are the folks who help maintain the balance and the equilibrium. But there are notable differences that eventually define their lives and shape their individuality. For one, risk-takers have a keen intuition and a sense of judgment that comes from years of evaluating stakes. They end up with envious amount of self-conviction as they are insane believers in an imaginary world of hope and overtime develop intrinsic faith to trust. They are fearless. These people also enjoy the discomfort in change and learn to walk away from complacency. They become habitual questioners always looking to satiate their why’s and why-not’s. Natural risk-takers also tend to lean on their relationships for support and understanding which intensifies and deepens the bond making it more evolved. More importantly these people grow a sense of gratitude in life that tunes them to appreciate what they have, in both people and things. You will know when you meet one, they are different.
Every decision or choice, big or small, can be evaluated with a risk angle to attain something bigger and better. While most certainly making choices in a structured and dependable manner guarantees safer and secure outcomes, it also robs you off the opportunities to challenge your own self, to seek something more than just routine. To evolve.
Leading a life made of comfortable choices is very ordinary but taking the plunge and doing things differently is what will cost you to be noticed. Like the saying goes, ‘the biggest risk is not taking any’. What do you say?
