Risks and Benefits

Risk vs Benefit

This biggest decisions in life can have the biggest payoffs, and also the biggest risks. Why wouldn't something so grandiose also come with the potential of failure? The big question is how do you know when the benefit outweighs the risks? You could pull the pen out of your pocket protector, slide your glasses further up your nose and scribble down a pros and cons list in your daykeeper or you could do as I do! I spend weeks thinking of almost nothing else, I weigh the odds with my heart and feel them out. I try to imagine any outcome, what terrible thing could happen to me? How much happiness could I really have? In my contemplation I often unearth truths and revelations that I didn't know were in there. Every day in my life I am realizing that being an adult doesn't get much different than it is right now! I thought maybe that someday life would be boring, or that some light could go on above my head that pointed a giant “Grown Up” arrow to me. It feels pretty much the same day in and day out as the years before. Though I have often been told I act a bit more mature than I actually am, I think it may have something to do with my optimistic yet realistic expectations about what life is.

I learned early on that life will not be handed to me. I am engrained with the thought process that I can do anything I want with my life and it will happen if I put forth enough effort. So that is exactly what I did! Pioneered my way into a career, moved out of state, improved upon myself until I loved what I saw in the mirror and found behind these green eyes. Though I can barely take any credit. Every talent I have been given and every opportunity I have acted upon has been handed to me on a silver platter by the Lord. The process of me utilizing these things for my benefit is a two person act and I am currently trying to perfect that balance between me and the Big Guy Upstairs.

Anyway, the point of this entry is to hash out within my own mind the theory of risks and benefits, pros and cons and how do you know what the right decision is? Simple...whatever God wants for you will happen. That is a big pill to swallow! How long should we date before we get married? Should we even get married? What car would be best for me to buy in my life right now? What school will be the most beneficial in my carreer path? What should I do to be more financially stable? Would moving back to my hometown take me two steps backward? How much is too much to sacrifice for happiness? Am I being unrealistic and letting a golden opportunity pass me by? The trick is to put your faith and trust in the Almighty and be willing to be happy with whatever He decides for you. He has your best interest at heart and He can see the bigger picture of your life. You may want nothing more than to stay locked here in this beach town driving your convertible and basking in the SoCal sun, but He may see the greater happiness you will receive by doing something that seems impossibly unbearable at the moment. This is a hard lesson for this stubborn girl to learn, but I am learning it over and over all my life, and really I wouldn't have it any other way!