In History class you are given the option to do any type of project you want. Do you stick to the trusty old, poster board project or do you take a risk and try something new, like a movie or podcast? Choosing the second option would be considered a positive risk, because even though you may not know how the project will turn out (risk), you are going to apply your knowledge in a completely new way and by giving yourself a challenge you are practicing new problem solving skills (positive). We have been taught at a young age that taking risks usually comes with a negative consequence but this isn’t necessarily always true. While it is important to weigh our options in order to make a responsible decision, we must be careful not to let the fear of failure or unfamiliarity, keep us from exploring and growing. Being a positive risk taker means making the conscious decision to move out of our comfort zone so that we can expand the boundaries of our minds and grow in areas that may be stuck in “poster board mode”. Maybe when you pick out next semester’s classes you choose a class that sounds interesting to you rather than one that you know will be an easy grade, or at the next job fair you walk through, maybe you pick up a flyer in a career you want to learn more about because it sounds exciting. Whatever it is, the next time you are given the opportunity, don’t stay within the box of your own limitations, be bold.
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You wake up and turn to look at your alarm clock only to realize that it never went off. Ugh. You jump out of bed throwing on whatever clothes are nearest on the floor, you race out the door with your backpack in hand when your bag catches the door handle, ripping your bag in half. Now you are not only late but the contents of your backpack are dispersed all over your lawn and you watch as the math homework you did last night floats into the air until it is snatched up by your neighbors dog. Gulp. We have all had mornings like this, where everything that could go wrong happens. Life is a never ending cycle of expected and unexpected events, and who we are as a person is determined by how we overcome the obstacles that are placed in front of us. Being proactive is the ability to prepare for and handle an unexpected situation that may be difficult. A proactive person is someone that takes responsibilities for their actions and knows that even when things don’t go their way it’s important to stay calm so they can solve the problem. They take the initiative to make things happen for themselves rather than sit around and wait for something to happen to them like a reactive person. A reactive person is someone that makes choices based on their feelings or emotions, which means when things don’t go their way, they explode. Do you remember the story of The Little Engine That Could? The tiniest train agrees to help pull a giant train over a mountain after all of the other, larger trains, refuse to help. Even though it seems impossible that the tiniest train could pull the bigger train over the mountain, it overcomes the obstacle by saying to itself, “I think I can, I think I can.” While this may just be a children’s story, it holds a very important message that we should all keep in mind. You are the conductor of your life; you have the power to decide how you react, how you feel and most importantly whether or not you can make it up whatever mountain you are facing right now. Our attitude can be the difference from seeing unexpected events as an absolute, code red disaster, to viewing them as simple bumps in the road that you can maneuver around. As Buddha said, “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.”
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