Taking a Chance — Asking the Right Questions
Updated: 4 days ago
Every day we are presented with an opportunity, with a choice, with a chance to take a leap of faith. Finding the courage to ask questions and to take a chance is part of being alive. The immediate response may be: If I take this choice or chance, if I take this road, if I take this path, will it be safe? Will it lead me to what I want?
Will it provide me with the opportunities and experiences I imagine and desire?
This is our automatic way of reassuring ourselves that we will be okay when, in fact, we have no control over what that possibility may bring.
Underneath it all, there is a basic, underlying question: Would taking a chance be worth it? Is it worth taking a leap of faith? Is the risk worth the possible desire or outcome? Other questions may come into play: Will making this choice provide me with some answers, with some rewards? The question, Is it worth it? means: Is all the spending of money, resources, time, study, research, or simply finding new cohorts of people going to be rewarded? Will it be favorable? Will it change my life trajectory for the better?
My answer is yes, it will.
No discoveries in any area—whether science, art, or politics—have evolved without taking chances. No extraordinary leaders, philosophers, warriors, or creators were formed through certainty. They were formed through not knowing, and yet taking a leap of faith and creating a path. They entered the unknown before they knew where it would lead. They asked questions before they had answers. They made choices before they could guarantee the outcome.
Any choice that asks us to look at the unknown and go there anyway is worth the choice.
The problem is that faith has become a negotiating factor. Faith has become something that needs to be acquired rather than created. We want reassurance before we move. We want guarantees, evidence, backups, and some assurance that the road we are taking will lead somewhere worthwhile. We want to know that our leap will be rewarded before we leap. We have become accustomed to looking for short-term gain—in comfort, in time, in security—even when we know that we don't have the time to wait for certainty. And I would say that these days, we don't have the time.
The truth is that a leap of faith is a sacrifice. At its base, it is leaving behind the identities and attachments that we are comfortable with and being willing to move beyond the familiar, the mundane, and the predictable. It may require us to move to another country, or across the nation.
We may have to learn a new language, forge new friendships, leave our families behind, or step away from the communities that have known us in order to discover our purpose and the experience that we know exists within ourselves.
And perhaps this is where another question emerges.
Instead of asking, Will my choice be safe? Will this work? Will I get what I want? we might ask: What am I willing to give up to find out?
What sacrifices are you willing to make to get what you want—to get what you imagine you want? What sacrifices are you willing to make to experience the reality you desire?
What are you willing to leave behind to become the leader you already know yourself to be?
Because perhaps the leap of faith is not really about knowing where you are going. Perhaps it is about being willing to become someone who can go there.
There may be no guarantee waiting on the other side. There may only be the question, the possibility, and the willingness to take the next step.
And most of the times that is enough.
The Hero’s Journey Coaching - Helping, self-driven entrepreneurs, creative and wellness innovators and leaders who believe deeply in what they have to offer and are ready to transform and share their purpose as a meaningful public contribution.
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