Once upon a time, there was a traveler on horseback that finds himself facing a swamp, and he doesn’t know whether to go around or wade through. The traveler questions a local boy, asking him whether the swamp has a hard bottom, and the boy says yes.
So the traveler guides his horse into the swamp, and they begin to sink deeper and deeper into the muck. The traveler shouts to the boy, “I thought you said it has a hard bottom.” To which the boy replied, “It does, you’re just not there yet!”
The moral of the story, take chances in life no matter what the outcome. Without taking those risks, you really aren’t learning anything.
Until recently, I lived my life on the sidelines, barely taking any risks. If you must know why, it’s because hate failure and denial. I was so afraid about how my actions would affect the way that people viewed me, as well as how I viewed myself.
We can’t let anything or anyone stand in the way of our goals and dreams. Here’s a wonderful quote from the late Randy Pausch:
“Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!”
Within the past 24 hours, I recently took a very big chance on something. It’s been something that I had been wanting to for a while, and I am still awaiting the outcome. But whatever the outcome, I’m not afraid of failure. Maybe there will be a brick wall that appears as a result, but honestly, my goal is worth fighting for.
So you’re probably asking yourself, what happened to the traveler? Well that’s were that story ends, but the only way to find out is to go through that swamp yourself and take that chance. But know this, no matter how things turn out, at least you can say you have tried. Through chances we learn and experience things, and by doing so end result is us just living.
