Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

Room corner shadow reflection, originally uploaded by Bird Eye.

How many times have you turned down the chance to do something just because it was outside your comfort zone? If you're like me, you sort of shrink away from risk and unexpected or unpredictable circumstances. 


I think that I get part of that from my mom. She's virtually a hermit (except when it comes to close friends and family) and would rarely socialize if the rest of us didn't force her to (we love you, Mom <3). 


I sometimes look at situations and, instead of viewing them logically and trying to think of the worst possible scenario, get this clenching fear in my gut that something is going to go awfully wrong. It's a completely negative and unwarranted way to deal with new events.


You know what litmus test I use when I'm tempted to pass up an unusual opportunity? 


"Will I regret not doing this?"


Notice that I did not state it in the positive - "Will I regret doing this". Instead, if it looks like a perfectly respectable and enriching experience, I try to imagine how I will feel a few months down the road when I look back. 


Will I wonder what might have been? 
Will I try to imagine the wonderful ways I might have grown? 
What I might have found out? 
What fun it could have been? 
How I might have enriched the lives of others? 


If it looks good to my mind, then by all means, I need to shove my panic-stricken little hermit down deep into the earth and strike out to meet a daring future. 


Every now and then I think to myself, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What will happen if I pass it up?" Perhaps my worst fear:

MEDIOCRITY. 

Room corner shadow reflection, originally uploaded by Bird Eye.