To keep one ’s self safe does not mean to bury one’s self. Marcus Annaeus Seneca
In whatever we do there is risk; risk of failure; risk of ridicule; risk of expectations ; risk of being handled responsibility etc. The logical solution then would be not to venture into anything and be risk free. Unfortunately life by its very nature is not risk free. By doing nothing you still run the risk of being labeled as lazy, unambitious, useless, good for nothing etc. However people prefer to be tagged negatively without proof rather than attempt a task and feel a failure if they botch up their attempt.
Many a time when we have a task on hand, it would be routinely observed that if we seek volunteers, there would be very few willing to take on the challenge. In many cases those volunteering are the bold and regular volunteers. With a little coaxing we might get a few more to volunteer but their latter efforts will be as reluctant as their initial response to be a volunteer. There are many who feel that the tasks are child’s play and demeaning to their abilities. This in fact might be a mechanism of defense that protects their ego from being exposed just in case they fail to live up to expectations.
There are many who don’t want to take the burden of commitment. Their favorite ploy is to give excuses for not taken on responsibilities. They would come up with flimsy and frivolous excuses to justify their inability to be part of the action. They often bury themselves behind the cloak of prior engagements, modesty in declining by stating that they are ill equipped, putting forth another persons name as a more suited and or just not showing up and giving a stupid excuse to boot. The net result is that they shy away from responsibilities and while they will feel comfortable that they can never be faulted for anything tangible, their loss is much greater; for they would never experience the power of action and miss out on the learning that experience provides.
Remember : Nothing ventured nothing gained .
Try these:
- List out 3-5 activities in which you can volunteer and participate. Choose 1-2 activities and you should make the attempt to get yourself involved in that activity. How does commitment hamper your freedom? If you fail in your attempt what are the lessons you learn from it? How can you ensure you won’t fail again in the same task?
- If you have made New Year resolutions, see which of them are yet to take off though 3 months have elapsed. Perhaps you will notice that you are responsible for not beginning it. Can you make a commitment to begin at least 2 of these resolutions and persist with it till you reach your goal?
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
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