Almost two decades ago, somewhat as a joke since she tutored me throughout grade school, I asked my grandmother to sign my yearbook. This was her closing paragraph:
“The best thing you can do from this day forward is to follow your intuition. Take risks. Don’t just make the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what could happen. If you do, very little worth remembering will ever happen.”
Years later, as I grew interested in the psychology of happiness, I realized how pertinent my grandmother’s words were. Risk is an inherent part of living a good life. Without taking risks, you cannot truly live… you merely exist. Which is why the happiest among us take small risks every day. Let’s take a look at ten examples, and examine some ideas on how to implement them in your own life.
1. They risk the possibility of being hurt.
As you grow up, you will learn that even the one person who wasn’t supposed to ever let you down probably will in some small way. You will have your heart broken probably more than once. You too will inadvertently break some hearts, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You’ll occasionally argue with your closest friends. You’ll blame new loves for things an old one did. You’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and you’ll eventually lose someone you thought you couldn’t live without. This is what happens when you open your heart and mind to the greatest joys of life.
Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The only way to find true happiness in life is to risk being completely cut open.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. Anybody who is capable of living and loving is bound to get hurt at some point, but that’s a risk that’s well worth the reward. The result is a life filled with honesty and love.
So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you’ve never been hurt. Don’t be afraid that your days will end in pain, be afraid they will never begin with honesty and love. Life is too short to let it pass by. Open your heart and mind and live it to the fullest!