I often read quotes that encourage people to take chances. I never thought of myself as someone who was afraid to take them, but as I’m getting older, the idea of trying something new puts me in a state of confusion. I recently started to think about opening a new business. What kind of business is the difficult question, but I started to realize that this world can be so negative at times. Even people aren’t as supportive as they were ten years ago. Not being afraid and taking a risk can be overwhelming. However, not all risks are the same.

Risks are different for each person. There are some who are fearless and will take the chance on any adventure. Skydiving or even swimming with the sharks allows them to take chances. Others are less likely when faced with these challenges. Truth is that many of us are great with evaluating risks. Although the danger that most us seem to fear the most is the feeling that we cannot control the outcome. Basically, many of us avoid doing things that we believe will not have a good outcome. There is a difference between someone who is not willing to take chances and someone appears to have a sense of confidence that we can control what is going to happen.

Controlling our fears and taking chances is to develop a plan for the worst possible result. This is what it means to taking chances. Taking a chance means not being in control. Reasonable chances offer reasonable amounts of control. Risky chances offer far less control. However, by not taking a chance doesn’t give us more control at all. It just keeps us from getting what we want in life. I’m saying we should throw caution to the wind and suddenly start taking all kinds of risks just to get what we want, but I do feel that we take chances when we first understand what we fear. It’s important to imagine and to weigh the possibilities, thinking out possible outcomes and making a considered decision.

As I continue to plan and imagine myself, I can’t help but think about what is meant to be, and throw away the fear of taking a chance. I will never forget what a neighbor of mine had said to me years ago, “Taking a chance isn’t failure. If it doesn’t work out, then it just didn’t work out, but it doesn’t mean that you failed. Failing is when you don’t take a chance at all.” It brings meaning to the words, take a chance on me.