“Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean.” – Christopher Reeve
So much of the way we live our lives comes down to this exact choice.
Do I want to be safe, play small, and stay comfortable?
Or, do I want to take a risk, play large, and get uncomfortable?
Here’s the rub: nothing life- or world-changing was ever accomplished from the shallow end of the pool.
Here’s the other rub: we have survived everything life has thrown at us so far.
Put the two together, and we quickly realise that whether we take a risk or stay safe, we’ll survive. We’ll live to tell the tale, and learn and grow from the experience.
(Of course, there are physically dangerous risks that should only be undertaken cautiously – like free-climbing a 50m rock face with no ropes, surfing in triple-overhead waves on a sharp reef, or BASE-jumping off a building. But these kinds of risks to our physical selves are relatively few.)
So, what’s your choice?
Do you take a risk and go out in the ocean, or do you stay paddling in the shallow end of the pool?
With love,
Israel. xo