Did you know that eighty percent of all choices are based on fear? Most people don’t choose what they want; they choose what they think is safe. But the truth is, when we choose a safer path, we are still taking a risk. We are choosing what we think will be a safe choice. But there is no way for us to really know how safe it really is. The only measurement we have is that it makes us less afraid. And we know that once our minds become consumed by fear, our thought process might not be all that reliable.
Shortly after I was diagnosed with cancer, I became fixated on the fear of dying. And those fears make sense when you first get a diagnosis like that. It’s scary and there are so many unknowns. There were so many tests to be done that might give me an inkling to my fate. And believe me, I was like Sherlock Holmes trying to figure out every variable and what could happen. After pouring over medical journals and case studies, the patient was now a doctor!
I had always been a super laid back, fun person who all of sudden, had lingering thoughts late at night, lying in bed, worrying about dying. I really think that this is normal response to news of a life-threatening illness. But reflecting back on it, I find it kind of silly because, well, we are all dying. No one knows when their time on this planet is up.
Tomorrow is promised to no one, and we are perishable items. We can’t afford to live in fear. We cannot afford to live in potential for the rest of our lives.
Don’t allow the illusion of doing what you really want to do with your life to be “someday”. “Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.
