Life is full of decisions. What to wear? What to have to breakfast? Watch Sunrise or Today? And most of these decisions don't have a lot riding on the outcome, because the options are just variations of the same theme.
But some decisions are biggies. Should we try for a baby? Should we move house? What school should I send my kids to? Should we homeschool our kids? Should I quit my job?
These decisions affect your life. The outcomes of these decisions impact the day to day. They affect our future and affect our memories.
But the tricky thing is, that you can keep down the same path and you have a rough idea of the outcome. This is a "non-decision". In not changing things, you are deciding that you can handle the status quo. If you decide to take the path not taken, you don't know what is going to happen. You can guess, you can research and make lists of pros and cons, but ultimately it's a risk.
So that's the decision - stay with the known, safe option. Or take the unknown, riskier option.
Lots of people play it safe. And that's OK, if that is what is making them happy. But there is nearly always an option to be made to change the current path. To venture out into the unknown. To take the first step.
And you know, having taken quite a few "big" decisions in my time, the unknown is not that bad. Sometimes it might not quite work out as planned, but sometimes, a lot of the time, those big decisions bring big rewards. Maybe not material rewards, but better futures, better memories. And I think that is worth the risk. Don't you?
I agree. Ultimately, when we take an accounting of our lives, will we be proud to say we took the safe path or we stepped out of our comfort zones? I know people who have failed at their attempt at starting a business. But did they really? They did something many of us dream to do. The road not taken is certainly not a guaranteed path to success. But neither is comfort.
ReplyDeleteI think you've been brave to make the decisions you've made this past year and hope you reap more than you ever expected.
Thank you Jane. A lot of people question the big decisions we've made (moving interstate, buying and selling businesses, more moving, homeschooling), but we have made them after a lot of fact gathering and soul searching. They may not always pan out the way we wanted (Queensland?), but we learnt something along the way and hopefully contributed to a fulfilling life.
ReplyDeleteWell said!!!
ReplyDeleteThe closest I have been to 'stepping out' of my comfort zone is going overseas (especially to some exotic destination like Vietnam or China - 2 countries few people ever dream of, let alone travel to); without taking the risk of leaving my job, or moving out of my current location (which I have gotten quite comfortable in, thanks very much, because I got to know so many people there, and right now, wouldn't live anywhere else). But my job (and staying there and putting up with everyone's foibles) enables me to take risks in a more 'calculated' way (I guess) and leaving it would be a big step for me. I would have to 'wean' myself off the job (while doing something else on the side) before I can teake that 'big step')
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