09 September 2010

Carelessly Put Yourself At Risk

I'm a terrible skier, and I'm not being hard on myself when I say that. Small children and monkeys are more coordinated than I am. So it was with unbridled terror that I once found myself alone on a black diamond ski trail in the middle of a blizzard. (Long story.) With nobody to carry me down, I didn't have a lot of options. So I wept--and had a fairly supplicating talk with God about my imminent death. (I believe I made a series of promises involving church attendance, reduced alcohol intake, and forgoing swearing.) And finally, I skied--slowly, with zero elegance, and whimpering like an infant the entire time--down the mountain. It wasn't pretty, but I did it.

The point being, sometimes you have to get in over your head to realize you're not in over your head at all. Two years ago, I got a job that I desperately wanted but had no idea how to do. So I took it, endured several panic attacks, and eventually learned the ropes. My choices were either figure it out or get fired. The bottom line: Most of the time, a high-risk situation won't kill you, because you are stronger than you think. And it's never a bad thing to be reminded of that.

(This was taken from a magazine I love and read religiously. Perhaps The God is trying to tell me not to jump off a cliff...yet)

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