“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where
fruit is.”(Mark Twain)
Safe is a word that many people use every single day. Safe is also a place where everyone wants to be. We are then secure and nothing will hurt us. The truth is that while nothing will hurt us, we are hurting ourselves.
Going out on a limb as Mark Twain so aptly put it can be stressful. There may be dangers lurking in corners and we might stumble and fall. Yes, these possibilities do exist. It does not mean that they are inevitable and guaranteed to happen.
If we stand still, we give way to turning into stone. Apathy takes over our lives and we find ourselves in a self-imposed prison with bars of failure. Not trying constitutes never knowing if you could. If you are a writer and you don’t put your ideas down on paper, you will never experience thrill of having people take your words and make them a part of their lives. If you are a mechanic, not going out on a limb will never give you feeling of accomplishment in knowing that you solved problem, you found source, and you helped someone. All jobs and careers involve possibility of advancement, increased knowledge, and ability to reach out and make a difference in lives of other people.
The fruit at end of that limb may be a new friendship, learning of a new skill or technique, and even wonderful warm feeling of having done a good day’s work for a day’s pay. When you serve that order in a fast-food restaurant, even if your efforts are not readily appreciated, you know that this person was treated in a very pleasant and helpful way. You did what you could do, and hopefully, they will go on to do something nice to someone else. You started chain reaction or you kept it going. Either way you did not stand still, you did not stagnate, and you made a difference.
Your words, your actions, and your attitude will be evident to everyone around you. There is always possibility that someone you think is out of hearing distance or is just not paying any attention does take note of you. Don’t risk chance that they just may need to hear a person that takes life and makes most of it. This hope of knowing that one person out there is not going to let world get them down may just be push they need to keep on trying, and not quitting.
