What does taking a chance on life mean?
Chance refers to the possibility of something happening, but there can be consequences in deciding to alter your lifestyle. To take a chance on life means to change your path, your goals and even uproot your life, by carving yourself a new path to follow. Any changes we make have risks; it just about weighing up the positive and negative factors. Gambling involves placing a bet based on a possible outcome, while leaving your job and setting up your own business hasn’t got a possible probability value. Yet, neither can predict the future. I want to be a freelance writer, so I’m taking a gamble on my career, but I’m going to be productive and work hard. If I left my career in the hands of chance, I would be lowering the possibility of succeeding. Of course, I could rule out chance all together and get a job in something I’ve done before, but I wouldn’t be happy. It’s about taking a risk to benefit yourself and improve your life for the better.
You may choose to take a chance on life because your bored and that part of you that craves more is suffocated by your fear. I was scared to take a chance on playing hockey again because I was afraid to join a club. Eventually, years later, I joined, and all my anxieties washed away. Sometimes, it’s the fear of the unknown and the anxiety that surrounds the scenario, which stops us taking the next step. Life is about taking chances, and sometimes it may lead you down a dead-end, but sometimes it leads to something better.
Chances comes in many forms, including love, where we take more risks. Like when you show up on that first date, or opening up to someone and saying I love you, and risking rejection. In love, we forego the risks of rejection; for the feeling of being in love, because humans crave companionship. I choose to fall in love over and over, because the benefits of being in love outweighed the risks of heartache. Unlike situations involving finance, where risk plays a massive factor, in love, we can get clouded by our feelings and shut out any consequences.
When considering a scenario, consider the risks involved and if you can increase the chance of success. I’m willing to put in the hard work to run my business, which cancels out some risks, and if I fail, I know I’ve tried my best. On the flip side, if I don’t put in the work and fail, it’s not just chance that has let me down, it’s myself. Chance is about questioning if the benefits outweigh the risks. If you don’t take chances in life, be it work, money or love, then you only have yourself to blame when life becomes dull and mundane. To take a chance is to choose how you live your life and take responsibility by lowering the risk factors and turning any scenario into an optimistic possibility.
I am challenging myself to write a 500-word post a day for 30 days. I will choose a random word from the dictionary and to make this challenge more complicated; I will use the same word to create posts on Twitter and Instagram. I will create a haiku for twitter and post a photo on Instagram. If the word I choose is too obscure to make a post, I will choose another word.