My number one priority in life is to survive [yours too huh?]. Whatever I do, the job I have, the car I drive and the relationships I’ve build, all come back to survival.
I like to play everything safe. If something involves risk taking the first thing I will do is think about the worst-case scenario [what if I die?]. I exaggerate the consequences of what might happen if things go wrong [losing control is scary].
I am not the only one who does this. Thanks to advances in brain imaging technology scientist have proven that we’re actually conditioned to overestimate the size of risks and underestimate our ability to handle them.
Before I write anything further, risk taking is not jumping out of a window to see if you survive [that’s stupidity].
What I have learned from the few risks I have taken over the years is that they help you grow as a person.
About three years ago, I lived in Sydney for a while, it was a great opportunity to explore a new country and culture.
While traveling around Australia, two of my good friends decided to skydive. I thought to myself ‘if they can do it, so can I’. Here is the thing, when I decided to skydive I didn’t think about it too much, I just went with the flow.
It wasn’t until it was my turn to jump out of the plane that I realised the risks I was taking. I screamed, shouted and almost cried [or maybe I actually did] but there was no way back.
Now this is one of the best experiences I have had and I don’t regret jumping off that plane. But had someone given me the choice to not jump off when my emotions were controlled by fear then I would of never done it [that would be something I would be regretting today].
