Do It Scared: Calculated Risks

Huge leaps of faith require so much patience and going against the current. I will say something totally counter-cultural, but taking leaps of faith are for the weak-hearted. What did I just say? You heard me correctly! It is for the weak-hearted. Why do I say that? If taking leaps of faith was for the strong and brave-hearted, how could it make you grow? Taking leaps of faith without consideration of your feelings takes guts, maturity, and trust that on the other side, everything will be okay—even when I take a huge risk that I have never done before. Growing definitely requires you to be outside of your comfort zone, into the sports stadium, showing action and doing it SCARED.

That does not say that you cannot listen to your inner gut feeling, because most times, our inner gut feeling will tell us when danger is ahead and that we should back off and move on. However, we must discern between the two and ask ourselves is this just fear or is this a caution to not move forward? Many times, it was my gut feeling inside of me that has saved me from so much heartache, grief, and terrible mistakes from happening in my life. I am all for following your peace. So let us think about this for a moment—when we think about taking leaps of faith, what does it mean for you? It can be incredibly different for every single person. For me, it means that I move forward without knowing what the process and potential end destination will look like. As long as I have peace, I usually go for it. That does not mean that I do not ask many questions before hand, and to be honest, I encourage you to ask many questions beforehand. That is the whole point of taking calculated risks.

Weigh the options and count the cost—because nine times out of ten, it will probably cost you something. For example, if you feel like you are supposed to quit your job to start a new business venture, it may cost you your life savings and cause you to go on an intense spending diet. I do recommend that before taking leaps of faith you feel you are supposed to do, to prepare yourself for the sacrifices that you will have to make on the other side.

Having back up is not always feasible because you may sometimes be required to make split second decisions with no warning and no preparation beforehand. It happens and that is why in every moment, and in every season, we must be prepared in every way in case life takes us down a different route that causes leaps of faith because we will not always have time to calculate whether it is worth it or not. I can tell you right now from experience that being prepared all of the time is the absolute best because I can actually promise you that leaps of faith will be required much of your life.

Leaps of faith will always be a part of life, no matter what we do and who we are. Learning to calculate every risk in your life and weighing out the pros and cons—even in the small things—will be beneficial when the time comes where split decisions are necessary. My best advice to everyone in this process right now is to do it scared and follow your inner peace. It will tell you what you need to do and where you need to go. Just have the faith that no matter what happens, know that you did make the right choice because sometimes life will throw us off balance and throw tests at us to make us think we did the wrong thing—even though we made the right choice. Do not go by sight, but by faith, it will lead and guide you. Try taking a leap of faith this week in any area you feel you are being called! It will be worth it, I promise!

Until next time, beloveds, enjoy this adventure!