Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
I’ve been giving this quote a lot of thought lately because I had a whole post written for you on choosing risk over fear, but shelved it as being too narcissistic. Surely at some point my inner journey will become a bore.
This photo of me was shot by my sister on a backpacking trip we took in the Desolation Wilderness last summer. To see more of her adventures and photos, check out her posts HERE.
Have you ever had to take a risk to reach something you felt may be important?
Comments 3
I took up rock climbing. Every now and then I’ll look down, and my monkey brain will panic. Holy poop, it’s a long way! A fall would kill me! Oh poop, oh poop, oh poop! Hands get clammy, heart starts beating fast. Then I slow down, take a few deep breaths, and remember this is why I have a rope. If I fall, it’ll catch me and it’ll do it softly enough not to hurt me. Then comes the hardest part in this situation, continuing to move up the cliff. And reaching the top. I expected climbing to be challenging, rewarding, and fun, but I didn’t expect this sort of personal growth, facing down some very basic fears. (I’m not sure that’s a 100 % relevant answer to the question you signed off with, we take a lot of care to set things up in the safest way possible to eliminate risk, but it sure feels dangerous. I think some of the stuff I’ve done hiking and scrambling are more dangerous because there’s no rope for protection.)
Great quote! While this comes naturally for me in the outdoors, I’ve tried to apply it to my career and professional life more, which is often harder. Having kids (I have two) has also put an interesting twist to this- how much should you risk the “safety” of your child (i.e. letting them skin their knees instead of keeping them inside, etc).
Thanks for the post.
Thanks Phil! You’re so right that risk become more complicated with a family. That is why I waited for my children to grow-up before I launched into some of my life changes.
Cheers!