“To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To hope is to risk pain.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
”The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live.
Chained by his servitude, he is a slave who has forfeited his freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
By – William Arthur Ward
While reading this quote, I kept thinking about opportunities that come and pass us by simply because we are too afraid to take risks. Opportunities are available to those who are ready to reach out and grab them. They are for those willing to push themselves out of their comfort zones and put a little more effort. What we desire is normally on the other side of fear. People who have succeeded in their endeavours, be this in businesses, careers, friendships and even marriages, could have not have succeeded had these people not taken chances.
Most of us want other people to be the ones to take risks on our behalf and then use their experiences as a learning curve for us. We choose to live our lives in the shadows of others. We fail to appreciate that our paths are not similar. The fact that it did not work for someone else does not mean it will not work out for us. We need to take the wise steps of faith and let other people’s shadows be. After all shadows betray even the owners. To read more posts by Gertrude, click HERE
