I know, it’s scary. The unknown. The notorious “other side” of the fence. Is the grass really greener over there? What if it’s not? What if it turns out to be the exact same shade as this grass? What if it’s just a cement patio? What if it’s pretending to be grass but it’s really astro turf? What if.
I’ve always been someone who’s been a little curious. Ok sure, a lot curious. But so what, right? They say ‘curiosity killed the cat’. Yeah, well maybe it did, or maybe she just died from natural causes. Did anyone ever stop and consider this possibility? Why is it assumed that curiosity was the cause of death? Also, not to beat the cat analogy to death, but that cat probably had a really kick ass life before she died. I bet she traveled the world, met a bunch of other interesting cats and animals, and most importantly, didn’t spend the majority of her days wondering what freaking color her neighbor’s lawn was.
Why do we talk ourselves out of taking risks? To be clear, by “risks” I don’t mean actual life threatening risks like cliff jumping, sky diving, or other things that generally require you to sign a waver acknowledging the very real possibility of plummeting to your death. I’m talking about the things that might very well change our lives for the better. Imagine that.
Here’s the thing. Stepping outside of your comfort zone can be terrifying. Sure, you might hate your job, be in a relationship that isn’t enriching your life, or you could be less than thrilled with your body. But on the other hand, you have a job right? You’re not single. You don’t really want to have to change your eating habits do you? We could make a list of excuses to talk ourselves out of anything, or we could take that same energy and draw a picture of how we would like our lives to look, and then make the necessary adjustments. Who’s to tell you that you can’t have a job you love? What crime did you commit that forced you to do something that makes you miserable every day? (Unless you’re someone who actually committed a crime and are reading this from the side of the highway while you pick up trash, in that case, carry on and thanks!)
Until you take that leap though, nothing is going to change. You’re going to continue living the same life and complaining about it. Anyone I know who has made big change happen in his or her life will tell you that it takes an incredible amount of courage, and that it’s not easy, but my goodness is it worth it. Whatever you decide, life is going to keep happening, so why not make the most of yours while you’re here, you know? I like to think that when we die, we all sit around comparing stories and we vote on who lived life the best. And then we celebrate with all the wine and desserts we want with no caloric consequences, because we’re dead and who cares, you feel me?
What do you want your story to be? It’s never too late to change it.