Today I am going to discuss "risk taking" and not allowing fear to hold us back from making positive and needful changes in our lives. This is something I have struggled with often through the years, and I know I have missed out on many things that would have been beneficial to me, had I not been afraid to let go of what I was clinging to so tightly. I have just recently started improving in this area, and truthfully, it has been mainly due to necessity than choice, but nonetheless, I am improving in this area, and I want to encourage others to do so as well.
I have been a truck driver for over 30 years now. It is pretty much all I have ever done. About 15 years ago, I developed rheumatoid arthritis, and I have been struggling with this ever since. Even though it is painful, and really slows me down, I have been determined to continue truck driving, as long as I can pass my DOT physicals, and stay licensed. I do not mean to be saying this in a boastful way, that I am working in spite of my handicap, actually, it is just the opposite of that. I have known for years now, that I need to learn something new, because this condition continues to get worse, and soon I won't be able to continue this line of work. But, mainly due to fear of the unknown, I have kept clinging to the one thing I knew, with a desperate grip, afraid to let go and learn something new!
Many of you have probably heard the story of how natives in Africa catch monkeys, but since it is so applicable to my story, I want to share it again. The story goes, as I understand it, that a small hole is made in a coconut, and the fruit inside is hollowed out, and peanuts are put inside, then a string is attached to the coconut. The monkey comes along and reaches inside and grabs the peanuts, thus making a fist. He then cannot pull his hand back out of the coconut because the fist he is making, due to holding on to the peanuts, makes his hand too large to get back through the opening. But the monkey refuses to let go of the peanuts, and he is pulled in by the string and captured!
This seems so silly, but it applies so fittingly to what I was doing, by refusing to let go of the one thing I know how to do, I was crippling myself from making the positive changes that were becoming so necessary in my life!
I have been especially fearful about learning anything to do with computers, or online businesses. I have never considered myself smart, or quick to catch on to new things, especially having to do with new technology, but recently I have developed an interest in online businesses and computer work, and I am greatly enjoying everything I have been learning!
Sometimes necessity is the greatest motivator, but I can be thankful that the circumstances I have gone through have finally forced me into making these changes.Yes, there is risk of failure in everything we do. The first couple of online businesses I have gotten involved with didn't work out very well, but I can honestly say, that even in what we see as failure, there is much to be learned from it, and we can use what we have learned, to help us in the next endeavor, so don't give up, expect problems and set-backs, learn from them and keep going! Be determined and keep pressing on!
I still have a lot to learn, and a long way to go, before I can replace my full time job with what I am doing now, but I am greatly encouraged that I have been able to catch on and learn new things that I never before would have thought possible! I am now learning that I am not to old to catch on to new things, and that there is hope for a better future for me!
This blog site is an example of one of the new things I have learned. I have a strong desire to share what I have learned, and what I have gone through, to encourage others, that they can do the same thing, and this blog site is one good way of doing this! I will share tips for starting a new career in your spare time while working a full-time job. I am learning as I go, and I don't pretend to know everything, so if any of you have any thoughts, comments, or personal stories along these lines that you want to share, please feel free to do so!
For Christians, we have the added benefit of seeking the Lord for help and guidance with the direction we need to take in our lives. To be able to pray for His will in our lives, and then by faith, to step out and go where He leads, can be scary, and challenge our faith, but God says "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (ISV).
We often times have to make changes, but a Christian can take comfort in the fact that God does not change. "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3:6. His love and grace and mercy are always with us. "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9.
