Risks- Step out of the Comfort Zone

Risk- While it is a fun board game that can last about a million hours, it is also a word that can induce great anxiety and fear in people. When we take a risk, we are leaping out of our comfort zone and into an unknown territory for ourselves personally.  While that might be true for ourselves, there are others out there that have ventured into these waters and can help guide the way if we would only look and ask.


When we take a risk, or even consider it, most people allow themselves to focus on everything that might go wrong.  We can start to allow doubt and fear control our actions, instead of the passions and desires that brought us to that place.  When fears and doubts control our actions, many people give up too soon and head for safer waters, often times right before the spot where our passions and desires just to show us why we started on this journey. 


I had a boss that had worked in our department for over 14 years.  She knew the players and contacts inside and out and knew her job, her bosses job, and everyone underneath's job inside and out.  She knew what needed to be done everyday and how she could make sure that those goals were being met.  Until one day, she was asked to take a major leap out of her comfort zone, to handle and help spearhead a major project that will impact the whole organization.  Now, if she had allowed fear and doubt to control her, she could have politely declined with no real repercussions and maybe eventually gotten promoted to her boss' job.  Instead, she took the leap and said yes, and has learned a great deal that she didn't previously know and once the project is complete be in a position to do more than she ever thought possible before.


Another story is from a friend of mine, who used to be a bartender at a restaurant, when we first met.  She has moved around a bit and married and has 2 wonderful children.  She has her degree in nursing and was working like a dog trying to stay on top of bills and payments and life.  Her and her husband worked overtime, weekends, and holidays.  She took a leap one day on a networking marketing and kinda put minimal effort into it for a while, only trying it because she liked some of the products.  One day, she decided to put fear and doubt aside and worked the networking like it was a full time job.  4 years later, her and her husband have retired, paid off all their debts, moved back to Florida and paid cash for a great place on the water.  She took the risk and is living a life most dream of being able to have.


When we step out of our comfort zone, we move ourselves farther out in the world, and it always changes our viewpoint.  Now we can see more of the world than we previously knew, and we can achieve more.