Just Take the Shot
Are you really living the life that you want?
If you are like most people, then you are doing everything you don’t like.
You wake up to a job that is unfulfilling, just so you can keep the bills paid.
You stay in an unhealthy relationship because you have no idea how you could possibly start over with someone new and better.
You keep eating the same junk food when you know it’s only going to kill you in the long run.
So why do you do the things that you really don’t want?
It’s because you are comfortable.
Nothing drastic enough has happened to you that has made you extremely uncomfortable that you had to change. The truth is that you don’t want to get to those extreme measures.
That’s where you get fired from your job when you knew you should have started your business years ago, but now you have no money saved to launch forth. That’s where you have to end the relationship because it has led you to becoming the worst version of yourself, and then you start to swear that you’ll never get in a relationship again. Or you wind up having a complete health scare that makes everyone who loves you frazzled.
No one wants to have those things above happen to them, but very few people are proactive about their lives. They wait until the worse case scenario happens before they make a change.
But that doesn’t have to be you. You have the choice to take action right now, if you can overcome this one thing:
Stop being afraid to do something out of your comfort zone.
It’s that simple.
Fear is just the idea that something will not work or that whatever it is that is in question shouldn’t be done.
It’s when we don’t think we are good enough to do something that seems far beyond us.
So what do you think you deserve?
That’s what it really comes down to. You become fearful to do what you know is good for you when you can’t see why you should have that.
Think for a second…don’t you deserve to have a job or business that you wake up to happily? Don’t you deserve to be in a purposeful and happy relationship that makes you a better person? And don’t you deserve to live a long healthy life?
If you are like most people, then you probably answered “yes” to all of those questions, which is a great start. But the hold up is that we don’t believe it, so we subconsciously block all of these good things from coming into our lives because we are afraid to take the shot.
We are afraid to take the shot because we really fear failure, so we stay captive to our comfort zone, which is detrimental to our success.
Michael Jordan’s perspective on failure opened my eyes to see that it’s ok to fail, but it’s not ok to not try — “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Jordan succeeded because he was not afraid of failing. He didn’t care if he looked crazy because he knew that eventually, he would reach his goal.
It’s time for you to line up at the free throw line and starting shooting towards your dreams and goals. While you’re up there, you may as well get yourself in alignment mentally:
- Recognize that everyone gets told “no”.
The truth is that someone isn’t going to hire you right away or give you the loan to start the business. It happens to every single person, and you are no different. If you expect to hear “yes” to every single opportunity you desire, then you are setting yourself up to be disappointed. Be optimistic, of course, but don’t feel so entitled that the world owes you something.
Sometimes, a “no” is a “not yet” or “there’s something better lined up”. Accept it and move on. The best is coming your way if you just keep going pass your first few “no’s”.
2. Recognize that everyone fails.
Failure is simply a part of life. There is no way you can magically by pass it. I don’t care how many mentors you get or smart decisions you make, you are going to run into a time where you just fail. The key is not to see it as a failure. Picture it as a lesson. You can learn more from your failure than you can from your success.
Failure will take you so low that you have no choice but to climb to get out. It will show you the mistakes you made so you don’t make them again. Sometimes, success can baby us to the point that we don’t take as many risks. When you have failed so much, you are in a position to take risks that you normally wouldn’t. That’s when you’ll see the most success.
3. Recognize that you’ll never be successful if you don’t take the shot.
Most people don’t succeed because they don’t put themselves out there. They shrink themselves and refuse to show the world what they have to offer.
If you don’t ask for the raise, then you will be least likely to ever get one. When you ask for the raise, your boss will see that you believe you are worthy of it. Your boss sees that you take your work seriously and could be an even more valuable asset when you are paid more.
If you don’t start the business, then you are missing out on a chance to change lives. Do you know how many people could truly benefit from your products and services? And don’t forget that your impact on people equates to financial gain as well.
Conclusion
Jordan wasn’t wrong when he acknowledged that he missed more shots and lost more games than he actually won. That’s the side people don’t always tell you. Don’t count yourself out if you haven’t gotten the ball through the net. It’s going to take a lot more practice. You’ll have to perfect your craft a bit more. In time, the ball will go through the net if you don’t give up.
Call to Action
If you’re looking to up level your entire life, then go ahead and follow me on Facebook or Instagram for free daily inspiration!
