I’m No Risk Taker

You may have noticed that I post a lot of audacious things about investments, saving, and even about being bold in facing tomorrow. But let me be clear about one thing, I’m no risk taker. I’m frequently afraid, and I know it’s a part of me that I continuously struggle.

Fear is always there. We do know that every time we wake up, every time we have an endeavor to face, or even when we’re about to work, we always have thoughts of fear. Questions run in our head as, “Will I be able to do much?”, “Can I do it?”, “Will this job help me in achieving my financial goals?”, “Is my knowledge enough?” - all of these hesitations signifies fear and anxiety on our daily lives. I always believe that it’s normal to have them. All people have them and no one here on earth is totally fearless.

However, the existence of fear does not follow that we give in to it. If you want to move from one place to another and fear is blocking your way, what you got to do is to find a way around it. Fear will always be there but we also have the choice to overcome it because we have a greater purpose.

What I learned from my 25 years of existence is that the sources of confidence, of being a risk taker, of having high esteem - all of these, actually come from a decision. It’s the decision to change. Once we decide to focus on a vision, you will realize that fear is nothing compared to where you want to be.

If you’re like me, I picture myself in the future as someone who is accomplished, In order to become that person I have to make a bold move and worry less about fear.

Don’t get me wrong, there wont be a day that  fear will be gone. However, I believe that it could be tamed. So what I do these days is confront fear all the time. I think when we get used to fear, it’ll eventually settle down or, as I prefer to say it, calm down. It’s no longer a wild blizzard that gives us the chill. Instead, it becomes a pot of gold that teaches us how to manage risks and live fulfilled lives.

Once we confront fear, we realize that we should be doing it as early as we can. There’s no point on delaying. I honestly try my best to risk and fail as early as now. The fact is that I’m a lot more scared about a future me, say on his forties, failing. It’s going to be horrible. I rather fail and make mistakes and know fear as much as I can in this early stage of life.

The whole thing about taking risk may seem too idealistic, but what else does matter? If we don’t risk and if we don’t face fear we’ll be stuck. I always believed that if you don’t like where you are or what you are doing, then change it for you’re not a tree.

Yes, I’m no risk taker, I have all these fears, but I do know that I advocate change and growth, and those are enough to outweigh everything else.

Read More»

The Importance Of Developing One's Self

I once had a fear of failure – always afraid to start or pursue anything. In line with that, I also thought that there is nothing worth achieving, since what rises only falls or what lives will always die. However, this is such a depressing state of mind. The more you think of it, the more it burrows obscurity in you, leaving you emptied and exhausted. I learned that developing one’s self is a brighter way. It is the path to achieve many great things and a means to abandon the pessimistic thought of nothing is worth achieving. I realized that it was the voice of fear that was whispering to me telling me that everything is small and futile, when in fact, there are so many things to achieve, to reach, and so many wonderful views to see. I further realized that giving in to fear hinders anyone from self-actualization and their pursuit of happiness.

So why do people choose not to develop their self? Or why do they stop? Or do they really? Am I just misjudging them? Or myself? I do know that in one point or another we strive to grow and develop to something higher. It’s probably innate in us as humans. But sometimes, we have this shield of giving up and just rest with mediocrity. Do we just allow this and condemn ourselves? I would say not. 

How do we cultivate self-growth?

Developing one’s self may seem easy but it is not quite. As the famous philosopher quote, “the greatest journey is the journey to self”. We are treasures and we’re yet to find the map and key to uncover us. I speak of purpose and ideals here, they are in us and it takes a while or even a lifetime to discover them. The important fact is that we walk with such potential and yet many of us don’t know about it. It’s time to uncover the truth that we are far better than anything in this world, and that the answers lay within and not from trivialities. This path of actualization is a long one, but take note that it is an endless one. An irony and it is probably why one should always seek for it to better understand it. We are after all unique, and no one can really give you purpose or the right path except yourself.

It’s a risk. The path to developing self is a risk and it is an option. You may choose to decay and prevent growth, that’s fine. It’s your life after all. However, you should understand that to develop self is not a far dream. There are so many things to developing self and there’s no expert in this.  All I’m saying is that it is important to develop self because there is actually nowhere else to be. We are meant for so much more, we’re meant to grow and denying this fact of life will suck us out of life itself. 

Maybe I'm writing this post for me, to act as a reminder of such strong opinions. How about you, do you think it is important or is there a better way? Enlighten me. 

Read More»