(ThySistas.com) The shoe company, Nike, has been telling us for years to “Just Do It”. Have we been listening? Eh…it depends. Before we do anything, a lot of us think about possibilities. We think about our safety. We think about how it may affect our close family and friends. We think about our appearance and how it may shift. We think about whether or not it will financially cripple us. After thinking that much, “Just Do It” becomes “Just Get To It…Maybe”. Why? Why do we psych ourselves out of a risk? Let me make it personal: Why do I psych myself out of a risk?
The 25% is always scary. The 75% is comfortable. So choosing to do something that is not comfortable taps into our insecurities. It makes us question our confidence that we thought we had thanks to two people commenting on our social media posts. It makes us realize that we are not in control of what may happen. F. Diane Barth said it best:
But the danger that most of us seem to fear the most is the feeling that we cannot control the outcome. So most of us avoid doing the things that we believe will not have a good outcome. The difference between someone who is not willing to take chances and someone who is, then, appears to be a sense of confidence that we can control what is going to happen.
This extended time off has given me more time than often to watch movies, tv shows, and other videos I enjoy. It also made me realize that I am even afraid of television shows. No, seriously, I fear certain shows. I can not watch Pirates of the Caribbean while eating because the weird looking sea creatures make me want to vomit. I can not watch thriller movies like The Ring or The Saw series because I have dreams about the movies happening to me. I do not watch anything on the ID channel because, even though I am a Christian, I fear death. I do not watch anything on HGTV because it reminds me of what I may never be able to have. While you could argue that I just have a preference, I can admit that my choices are because of my fears. These fears also permeate what I read, how I do my job, and how I develop relationships with others.
It is time. The goal for now in challenging my 25% is to take risks with simple things: watching shows and movies that I usually would not even dare touch, making videos of myself in awkward situations and posting on social media, and reading books that are way outside my comfort zone. Instead of diving all into these risks, I am going to take them one day at a time. Well, if I am honest, I will take them one week at a time. I want to also use this time to decide my new likes and dislikes. I will admit that I have changed since I was 7 years old and watched Child’s Play for the first time…and the last (I’m sorry…I will never expand my risking to that movie.). I have to remember that what I am doing is not a waste of time. Self-exploration is how we grow into better people. We get to know ourselves so we can tell others who we are. Self-reflection, a definite lost art, provides us the ability to assess who we are to ourselves. I fear what is to come, but I fear staying stagnant and ignorant to better possibilities more.
Staff Writer; J. W. Bella
May also follow this talented sister online over at; JWB Writes.