By: Emily Tran
Not knowing if you’ll fail or succeed is scary. It’s hard to find the courage to make up your mind and do something without second-guessing yourself. But you’re here because you want to change. So here are a few tips to help you make a step in the right direction:
1) Start out small.
If you’re a person who’s used to putting ketchup on your fries, try mustard or BBQ sauce next time. Take those small risks and move on to bigger risks. For instance, you’re doing weight training but you’re not getting fit enough, however you don’t want to switch to another exercise since you think there’s a tiny chance that the weight training will finally pay off the longer you do it. Don’t be scared of change. Take the risk and go to that weekly cardio class at your local gym. There’s always a chance you’ll find something you’ll love and will benefit you in the long term.
2) Ask yourself: Will you regret it in the future?
Pretend you’re 90 years old and sitting in a nursing home. You think back to your past. Will you regret not telling that person your feelings? Will you regret not applying to that prestigious school over that local liberal arts school? More often than not, you would. If you don’t take the risk, you’ll never know the outcome. Use this method to predict the consequences of that risk and decide if you should really take it. Who knows? It can be an experience that you’ll laugh over in the future or an experience that changes your life for the better.
3) Stop waiting for a risk-free opportunity.
Maybe you’ll wait for “later”. But how “later” is “later”? Will it be tomorrow, next week, or in five years? When a job offering comes your way and everything’s perfect except for one condition: you have to move across the country, what will you do? Your first instinct is to reject it because that’s out of your comfort zone and you send a letter declining the offer. You repeat to yourself: “Another opportunity will come my way.” But what if it doesn’t? You’ve spent your whole life waiting and at death's door; you finally wish for a do-over so you could just go back and take that opportunity. Opportunities like these are never risk-free. If worst comes to worst, just quit. You’ve taken the risk, hated it, and quit. Now start over.
4) Dealing with rejection.
Alright, the person you’ve confessed to said “no”. You’re heartbroken, embarrassed, and you never want to try or experience that again. You’ll get used to it. If you think “no” is the worst thing that can happen to you, think again. Imagine the worst things that can happen to you: dying, going to prison, being eaten alive by hornets...Now imagine being told “no” to. If you knew twenty people were going to say “no” to you but the twenty-first person was going to say “yes”, would you go through all the no’s for that one yes? I don’t know about you, but I would. Always have hope after you get told “no” and try again. Rejection will never be the worst thing that can happen to you.
5) Last resort: Not caring.
If you didn’t take a risk because you were afraid of how people would look at you, raise your hand. I’ve been guilty of this too many times to count. A simple counter-solution to this is understanding that everyone is focusing on themselves more than others. They don’t notice you because they’re too busy nitpicking all of their own insecurities. They’re not judging you because your existence barely registers in their mind. You can do anything you want because in the long term, who will care about what you do? No one, but you.
Use these tips to expand out of your comfort zone. Fear of taking risks will only guarantee failure in the end. If you’re still worried about failing, don’t forget there’s also a chance for success. Taking risks will lead to personal growth and more opportunities.
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