I can be good at strategizing. I can also be somewhat anxious. Put those two together, and what do you get? A mindset where I’m trying to anticipate and plan for every possible risk in advance. (Believe me, that’s no way to live!)
When I notice myself doing this, I try to shift to a mindset where I trust myself to respond spontaneously and intuitively to any situation that might come up. (Yes, sometimes, the appropriate response to life is to sit down and do some planning��봟ut I tend to err on the side of over-worrying and over-planning.)
I find it helpful to remind myself that life is risky and ultimately fatal. The ultimate risk is not that I will get killed, feel embarrassed, feel ashamed, or any of that. The ultimate risk is that when my life comes to an end��봞s it inevitably will��봧t will have been meaningless. The only way around that risk is to take risks��봢specially, to take the risk of standing up, standing out, and doing my best to offer life what’s mine to offer.
Photo (by Ruben Holthuijsen) is used under a .