23 October 2009

Chapter 5 - Risk

This is me circa 1970.

I liked this chapter about taking risks. Martha had some good nuggets in here:
"What's safe about not being who you were meant to be?"
"Menu Item #5 teaches you something useful: either that the world is safer than you thought, or that you can suffer disappointment and survive."
"It (a daily risk) will expand your horizons, your confidence, your relationships, your achievements, and your happiness so much that in time, you will go looking for the shiver of apprehension that says your have reached the boundary of your comfort zone."

Taking action despite the fear, it's the only way. Taking baby steps, small risks through the fears to our desires. I'm well acquainted with anxiety so talking yourself through anxiety is something I already do.
These are the sort of little risks I've been taking this week:

Left a comment on a blog I've followed for awhile. This lead to signing up for NaNoWriMo officially. Publicly attempting to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.

I've been aware of when I react in less-than-desirable ways like stressing out, and fighting situations I have no control over, which helps nothing. (That's what faith is for Andrea...remember?) I'm really trying to move through this quicker and get to a place of rolling with it, and clean up my mess quickly.

Noticing when I feel nervous, scared, resistance, and trying not to avoid it. Getting to the source and move though it mostly in my thinking and responses to people. I think the actual, physical action of taking a risk does tend to help the most. So I plan to keep doing all the little things that stop or scare me and stretch my comfort zone into a new and larger shape.

Looking forward to seeing how others in the book-blogging club experienced risk this week.

8 comments:

Lisa @sacred circle said...

"I plan to keep doing all the little things that stop or scare me and stretch my comfort zone into a new and larger shape." YES! This NaNoWriMo is really intriguing me too, although I have so much going on in the next month, it's not good timing for me... of course, will it ever be good timing? :)

Sherry said...

Keep going forward, taking on new ideas, risking that safety -- only one way to find out what you can do and what you are capable of...risking!

Julie Zaccone Stiller said...

Nanowrimo is a lot of fun, I've tried a few times, and haven't succeeded yet. I'm considering whether to risk the attempt again this year. Hope your risk in participating pays off well for you!

Anonymous said...

We've got to feel the fear, then take the risk anyway!!

Lucy Ladham-Dyment said...

Baby steps are the way to go. Thanks for posting.

gma said...

Good luck with Nanowrimo.
:-)

Lexington said...

Thank you so much for sharing your week with risk. It is so lovely to read how you were able to use risk to comment on a blog and sign up for Nanowrimo. Wishing you success with your novel.

Karen D said...

Thanks for sharing your journey with risk this week, good for you stretching out of your comfort zone. I really like this line that you quoted "What's safe about not being who you were meant to be"
How true!