I have found that in life, nothing is ever worth putting effort into unless it challenges me. I live for the challenge, and I live for the journey. Stepping outside of my comfort zone is what thrills me the most in life and what I would define as truly living. In the movie "The Shawshank Redemption," Andy Dufresne states, "Get busy living, or get busy dying." In the movie, Andy goes to jail for a crime he did not commit and realizes that he is going to spend the rest of his life in jail unless he devises a way to escape. So he risks everything and escapes, as an innocent man as he should be. The theme of the movie is that the journey to escape prison, metaphorically, is a risk that we all have to take in order to "get busy living." However, if we sit back and just watch as our life passes us by without taking any crazy risks then we aren't truly living life to the fullest and might as well "get busy dying." After seeing this movie I try to apply that concept to my life every day because I know that I have a choice to take risks that may not always pan out, but at least I will know that I gave each opportunity a chance.

So how can you apply the theme of taking risks to your daily life that most likely does not involve breaking out of jail due to a crime you did not commit? Well, here are some of my examples that turned out well and some that did not turn out so well. However, at least I gave them a chance.

First, I ran cross country in college after never having run over a one-mile race prior. I decided to join the team after the coach said I had some potential and I met some of the people who were members and got along with them well. I started the team as the slowest runner by far, and now after hard work and support from my team I am among the best as a consistent contributor. I learned how vital work ethic is to success from taking this risk and do not regret being the worst on the team for the whole first season at all.

Next, I took all of my savings from my first real summer job and invested them into a retirement fund that I researched on my own. Then the market crashed one week later. Do I regret this risk, though? Not at all. I learned a lot about personal finance and how I should have distributed my money and maybe even been a little but more patient with my investments. I may have not won on this risk, but I learned valuable lessons.

Lastly, I am currently taking risks by applying to jobs and research positions all around the world in order to travel to new places. Do I know anyone going into it? No. Do I care? Absolutely not. I want to see the world and put myself out there and hope for the greatest outcome possible. I am a firm believer in evaluating my decisions in terms of not only the worst-case scenario, but also the best.

So does risking everything mean gambling away your life savings on a casino game? I would say no, because that is not truly living, but rather a desperate attempt for a thrill in life. However, does risking everything mean finally making a move on your crush after being friends for a long time, even if it means sacrificing that friendship? I would say yes. You can either get busy living and see what happens when you put yourself out there, or get busy dying and watch life pass you by.