Have you ever heard someone say, or maybe you have even said it yourself…
“I just feel dead inside.” I have certainly been there before and I hear all the time in my coaching work.
How does life get to that?
You see early life is a rapid series of risks. And it reminds us that we are ALIVE!
Going to school
Academic challenge and tests
Learning, practicing, and competing in sports
Navigating lust, intimacy, and romantic commitment
Picking a college
Choosing a major
Committing to a career
Finding a life partner
Deciding if and when to have kids
These risks are why most people describe this as one of the best times of their lives.
Then at some point, we settle in. The risk gets fewer and farther in between...
We can do our work with our eyes closed.
We have a secure job with a stable company.
We are "used to" our partner.
We feel like we are Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. Same thing on repeat, day after day.
We have some financial security.
The kids begin to need us less and less.
We abandon sports and hobbies in the name of "exhaustion" and "busy".
We dream of living different lives, but it remains a dream, safely tucked away in the corners of our minds.
Safety becomes the goal...
We wake up one day and feel stuck, unsure, unfulfilled, and worst of all... dead.
This is where most of us make self-destructive choices in an attempt to feel the vitality of risk again…
Drug use
Overworking
Cheating/affairs
Excessive Debt
Gambling
Acting out of anger, frustration, or shame
Drinking more than wanted
Over-consuming sports, social media, and entertainment
And the most costly… Alienating those that we love the most
The thing we don't understand is that risk is a choice. A way of being.
We can wake up that part of life again in a healthy and fulfilling way if we CHOOSE to.
We can risk with our partners, kids, and work, in a way that creates a deeper connection and clearer purpose.
We can risk in our conversations and actions in a way that increases intimacy and satisfaction.
We can risk building a legacy that we are proud of.
The Simple Epic Action is to do something that scares you every single day.
Tell a friend you love them
Climb a mountain
Go after a promotion
Volunteer for a local charity
Go knock on the neighbor’s door just to say “hi”
They don’t have to be big risks. Just risks.
