Life is about taking chances.
You take a chance when you raise your hand in class.
You take a chance when you decide on a seminary or yeshiva.
You take a chance when you drive, when you fly, when you swim, when you date, when you walk and talk and breathe.
And sometimes, there are choices to make, things to do and you have to decide if you want to take the chance, if it’s worth taking a risk or to take the safe route and remain with the status quo.
Will you hold your breath, close your eyes and jump into the deep end of the pool, hoping to make it back up and out intact, or will you stand on the sidelines, cheering on all those that try and do and win and lose?
Sometimes, you have to endure the voices whispering in your ear or shouting in your face, telling you that you can’t, you shouldn’t, you’ll fail, you’ll get hurt.
You have to plug up your ears, tune out the dissenting voices and choose to listen to your own inner voice telling you, “You can, you can, YOU CAN!”
Because you know yourself better than anyone else knows you.
And if you sincerely believe in your ability and in your strength, then your strength will prevail.
So believe that maybe, despite what they say, despite what they think, you can succeed , that you do have the power to overcome numerous challenges and prove to everyone else, most importantly to yourself, that the ultimate power lies in what you believe.
And know that your Father is standing at your side, ready to catch you should you fall.
Because though trying is not a guarantee for succeeding, one thing is definite:
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
~ André Gide
13 comments:
I agree that sometimes we just have to jump in and believe we will succeed...and good for you for recognizing that. But don't you think that there may sometimes be some value in taking the safe route, despite possible potential success?
Are you forwarding this post to Prez Obama? He would be very proud of you ;)
Anyway, this is a great message and a good motivational push for all of us.
@ iRiR. Na. He doesnt like ppl who actually try. He is more into those who just talk abt it.
I took a chance once and invested a lot of time and energy on someone who meant a lot to me, but sometimes you have to get used to be knocked down and then picking yourself back up, dusting yourself off, move on and hopefully become stronger because of it.
Mystery Woman: You know, before I put up this post, I hesitated because I had that question too. But I think that taking risks is okay as long as your bases, so to speak, are covered. Like, don't jump into the deep end of a pool if there's no adult present. Don't invest all your money in one stock. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Don't do something foolish in the name of "taking chances." But sometimes, you just have to do it, even if it feels safer to stay close to shore. You can't know if you'll win or gain if you never even enter the race, right?
iRiR: :-) Like The Professor said, he's more about talk than doing. I think this past week is the first time he actually did.
Thank you, I do hope it serves as inspiration to whoever reads it. I kind of wrote it to motivate myself :-).
Frum Single Guy: I'm sorry you were so hurt. You never have to get used to being knocked down but it's always good to know how to pick yourself up and move on. Each experience in life is a lesson waiting to be learned.
@ SIR even this past week, the way hes gone on abt it, u would think he was one of the seals involved in the raid
The Professor: Yeah, his speech was so ridiculous it was almost painful to listen to. He is one of the most pompous people out there but I guess you can't expect much better from a politician.
@ SIR I was abt to go out running when i heard the news. I decided to wait and listen to the speech hoping it would be one of those speeches that would go down in history as something special. Needless to say, i shoulda just gone running.
lol abt not expecting better from a politician. My favorite line abt politicians is from the matisyahu song Close my Eyes; " open up ur eyes, every politician is a human in disguise". :)
so......are you saying you should have taken a chance and met me? ;)
on a serious note - taking that leap is important and can enhance your life, but in the event that it doesn't work out, you have to embrace the fact that a mistake was made so that you'll take another chance.
What a beautiful post! So heartwarming and so encouraging!
It reminds me of a poem I posted on my blog recently called The Race which highlights just what you are saying.
And I love, love, love that quote. Although I've heard it before, it's always good to read again - it is so true.
Taking chances is hard but sailing through life without taking risks would be boring. It's not going to be easy especially since you never know what the outcome is but it is all worth it when at the end of the day you can look back and say, I tried. I put myself out there. I did something I may not have done. It was hard. But I did it.
The outcome is not in your hands. But you have the ability to try and you MUST!!
Believe in yourself and in your Father who is cheering for you!!
The Professor: I was about to go to sleep when I decided to wait for the speech. Needless to say, the speech put me to sleep faster than any sleeping pill would have :-).
Colloquiallyspeaking, Yes, I should have. Next time i'yh :-).
You're 100% right. Like I said, taking chances doesn't guarantee success but it definitely has the potential to build character etc.
Devorah: Thank you. I never saw that quote before and came up with some really good ones in searching for an appropriate quote for this post. Your comment is beautiful enough to be a post on its own :-).
So true. It's scary taking chances, but sometimes you just have to jump!
The risks scare us, but we don't know until we try. And we can only accomplish if we make an effort. If we fail, it's okay. We just learn how to do it better and try again
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