On several occasions, it seems that we as a human race, may not decide to try new things or step out of our "comfort zones" due to the fear of not being able to do them. Sometimes we think that once we make an attempt at something that hasn't yet been explored, if we fail we can never do anything like it again. The real question is, how will we know we cannot do something if we never try from the start?
We won't know.
After all, even if the outcome isn't what we expected, isn't it still a large victory that we put our foot in the door and tried?! There really is no telling whether we will fail or succeed, all that needs to happen is just one leap of faith.
In the wise words of Benjamin Mee, "All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, and I promise you, something great will come of it." This could not be a more accurate statement, it is so concise and proves true in almost any situation.
For instance, if you were to jump out of a plane for the first time, tandem of course, there would most likely be several different thoughts and outcomes running through your head. You might think, "What if the parachute doesn't open before I hit the ground?" or "What if the guy strapped to my back doesn't really have a clue what he is doing?" The answers to these questions are both literally and figuratively up in the air. There is no way of knowing what will happen until you gain start the timer for those twenty seconds of courage and take that leap of faith out of the plane.
The same piece of advice has crossed my ears many times, that most of the doubts and worries you may have, never actually materialize. This is probably quite comforting to the brave soul jumping from the plane, but it is true in other areas of life as well.
If you don't put yourself out there and strive to battle new challenges, then you may be missing out on what could be the best part of your life.
The worst case scenario is the same if you try out for an elite group, or you try a new food, explore a new city, or talk to new people: you've lost nothing. If you don't make it into the group, you're no worse off than you were before, and if you try a new food and don't enjoy it, at least you know not to eat it again. If you explore a new city and decide it is not for you, then at least you know you do not want to live there. If you talk to new people and the conversation doesn't quite flow in the right direction, there are over seven billion more people to meet in this world.
With that being said, the key to living life to the fullest is to constantly keep trying. While there are safety latches on a parachute, there aren't any in life, so you need to jump out of that plane, hit the ground running and don't stop.
