Taking Risks

On the first day of my favorite class (Group Dynamics), my professor (my favorite of all time, might I add) told us that we'd be doing an activity that would involve taking risks.  How much or how little we wanted to risk, though, was up to us.  I've since realized that he wasn't just talking about that activity, or even that class.  He was talking about life.

Throughout my life, I've generally been more of a scaredy-cat than a risk-taker.  Scared of heights, scared of the ocean, scared of being judged, scared of not fitting in, fears on multiple levels.  But I'm proud to say that, at 32-years old, I've finally started to take risks.  Maybe not in the physical sense...I'm still afraid of heights and the ocean and won't be scaling any mountains any time soon.  But, socially, I've become much more of a risk-taker.  I've been online dating for a while now (I realize the "for a while now" part makes me sound more like a loser than a risk-taker, but whatever), and although I've yet to find any true success, it's not hurting either, and what have I got to lose.  I speak up in class a lot more than I ever have before.  I also attended two events this weekend where I knew absolutely no one.  One being a volunteer event, and the other purely social.  In both cases, I put myself out there, and it paid off.  Both were really positive experiences, and I had an exceptionally good weekend.

So now that I've jumped in, I feel as though each risk will feel a little less risky.  I only have this one life (as far as I know.  I'd still really like to believe in reincarnation, though) and I want to make the most of it.  In my counseling program, we are told time and again that anxiety is necessary in order for change to happen.  Nothing will change without an element of discomfort.  It makes sense.  And this journey is supposed to be about positive change.  I'm realizing more and more that taking risks is necessary for change.  If I don't step out of my comfort zone (which doesn't feel so comfortable anymore anyway), I'll be stuck in the same rut forever.  So far, so good.  The benefits are far outweighing the potential costs (maybe I should have been an Economics major with all of the cost/benefit analyses I've been doing lately).  So, I'm gonna keep going.  Ain't no stoppin' me now! :-)