Inertia

I was thinking about what keeps us from our dreams.  The potholes, trapdoors, and gumption suckers.  I have a friend who I’ve known since I was in grade school.  She had traveled to Germany once in her life, but as time wore on, travel seems to have become more difficult.  So many things must be “right” for her to travel.  I’m not sure if it’s the fear of travel or the love of home that keeps her from traveling more.  In fact, I have her in my will to spread my ashes in England because the only way I’ll get her to travel with me is “over my dead body”!  We laugh about that, but it’s true.

Are you feeling tied to your seat?  Chained to your routine?

Fear of change always plays into inertia.  Change is viewed as a bad thing – I’ve seen this at my various jobs.  People are afraid to upgrade to new software because they are so comfortable with the way things have always been done!  The excuses start to come in as well.  “I’m too old to learn something new,” “what’s wrong with the way we’ve been doing it”, and “what if things start to crash”?  Behind inertia, you’ll always find fear of failure.

But, what if change is actually good?  What if the new software helps you do your job faster, more efficiently, and with better quality?  We bury ourselves under “what if’s” so often that we miss a rainbow of opportunities.

I travel a lot, and with travel comes a certain level of fear.  “What if the dogs aren’t taken care of?” “What if someone breaks into the house?” “What if the plane falls out of the sky?” “What if a terrorist bombs the subway?”  You get the picture.

I compartmentalize the what ifs, because the potential for change and the potential for fun and the potential for adventure are a part of what makes my life worth living.  If I sat on the couch all year watching soap operas, I become a part of the walking (or sitting) dead, and there are way too many of those out there!  The only life I’m sure I have is this one, and I don’t want to waste it!

So, ask yourself, “What are my ‘what ifs’”?  Acknowledge them, and then safely tuck them away.  If you weigh yourself down with too many of them, you will never get to live the life you were meant to.

My biggest fear is that I come to the end of my life not having lived it.  I think I shall put that in my “what if” compartment.

Now, go and find adventure.  I dare you!