“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Mark Zuckerberg
If you want to live with purpose and thereby invite Life Balance this year, you must be willing to take risks. No objective worth pursuing comes without effort or risk. Those who strive and those who dare may be constantly tempted to return to their comfort zones. They must resist the temptation.
A sense of perspective coupled with the ability to take risks when it matters is a powerful tool in constructing a meaningful life. When you begin taking calculated risks that take you toward your objective, you feel more energetic and balanced. You foreclose the possibility that you will later find yourself saying, “If only I had taken that chance.” This energy and balance also carry over into your personal life.
Most of the older people we’ve talked to agree that they’ve felt most alive when taking risks; that they felt a much greater intensity in their lives when trying new things and allowing themselves to learn, fail, try again, and continue to explore and learn.
This underscores the importance of seizing the moment; of reaching for the stars while you’re gifted with youth, energy, and a sense of adventure. But your reach should not be blind. It must be guided by reflection and planning. Many of the seniors we’ve interviewed have told us they wished they had been more reflective in their prime. Many of them had been so caught up in the moment of action that they often lost focus on the meaning of what they were trying to accomplish.
Life moves at an ever-quickening pace, and by the time you’ve finished preparing and establishing yourself, its time to shift gears. Phase II, the second half of your life, has arrived, and the days, weeks, and years pick up speed like a river current approaching rapids. Suddenly your children are grown, your grandchildren are arriving, and you’re the age your parents were when you first thought of them as “old.” Time is suddenly the most precious currency in life, and you regret taking the risk-free course and holding back from doing the things you love doing.
Seek integrity not security. Integrity comes when you choose the work you love and are born to do.
(Adapted from the book, Life Balance, The Sufi way b Azim Jamal & Nido Quebin)