What does it mean to take a risk?

Taking a risk, for you and I, will mean different things. In fact, the idea of risk taking will always vary from person to person. It could be something as simple as deciding to have tea instead of coffee as the first morning beverage of the day; or even making the choice to take the bus to work instead of driving yourself. Each choice has a different outcome, but its possible that the choice you make different today will actually serve you better than the choice you’ve made every day for years before. Even though everyone has their limits on what they would be willing to take a risk on, the principle is essentially the same.

Confidence

What people are willing to risk depends on their level of self-confidence, as well as their confidence in others. For example; A person may someday decide they want to go skydiving. They pay their fees, get set up with a parachute and then take that leap into the unknown- whilst having the full confidence in the person that packed the parachute having done so correctly.

That’s an example of someone with total confidence in both themselves and others. But what if someone doesn’t have that….

If a person doesn’t have confidence in other people, then they are unlikely to ever do anything outside of their comfort zone; Changing an aspect of their daily life or doing something that requires the assistance of another person. So they could spend years of not knowing what lays just over the ridge of the unknown.

If you take a chance and it backfires, then you know that it wasn’t the right thing to do….but at least you tried. A failed attempt at something may just mean you need to adjust the method…

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” Henry Ford

That first step…

What I say to you is this- take a chance. You don’t have to go out and start a hobby in skydiving, but go out today and do something different. Something you have often thought of but not had the will to actually go and do. You never know, you might just find out what you have been missing for all of these years….or even, you might find that special someone that helps you to grow and gain confidence in yourself. Each day is another chance to improve yourself in one way or another.

Why am I writing about this?

Taking risks is never something I had ever wanted to do in myself. I’ve always wanted to take the easy route and live as peaceful of a life as possible (Not easy when in the military, but it’s the thought that counts).

Two years ago, I volunteered for a new job within the military. One that took me from the shores of the United Kingdom and brought me to the USA. I had no idea what to expect…the thought of it scared me. But I doubled down and just went for it….what did I have to lose?

I sold my house, my car and moved across the pond to eventually find myself in LA County….my only attachment to the UK now is my family. I was set up in a small place and found myself a car to drive.

I’ve been in LA County now for about a year, and it has been one of the most turbulent times in my life. Work, health and my personal life all attributed to this. But you know, as down as I have been of late, I don’t regret anything about my move to the US. It has been a huge risk on my part and I feel like a better and stronger person because of it. The support from friends and family I have had in the last 6 months has been incredible. At a time when I felt defeated and at my whits end, they all knew exactly what to do or say to help me. And for that I am eternally grateful. If you are reading this now and you are one of those people….Thank You! I could spend all day writing about my time in the US, the highs and lows, but that is not the point of this article….

So, to the point….

Do something different today! Start out small, find something in your life that could be changed without causing great distress….and change it. Dip your toe in the water and see how it makes you feel. If it’s a good feeling then go forth and change more. Eventually, if you walk this path, you’ll come to a big life changing decision…And that is a scary thing for anyone. At that point, it’s time to spend a bit more time to make the decision. But still, think about the risky option….it might do you some good.

A simple decsion will always require a simple answer, but the more complex issues will require some time of contemplation. A good idea is to make the decision that will make you the happiest you can be….Easily said I know, but starting out with that mindset might actually make the overall descision much easier.

Take a risk…make that leap of faith that you hear so often about in films, and most importantly of all…be happy, because life is too short to spend it feeling down.

Live each day as if it were your last…because, it just might be….

My name is David, I am a member of the British Royal Navy and I have very recently completed my 10th year of service. It has been an interesting decade to say the least; with the numerous deployments around the world; highs and lows in morale; and many situations which cause some sense of personal turmoil.

Although many times have been hard in the military, it has always been worth it. I look back at my career and see what it has made me today. And I must say that I am a better person because of it. The things I have seen and done in my time have shaped who I am today.

Why am I writing this article?

I’m writing this so that you can be aware of some reasons why people decide to sign their lives over to serve their country. There are many reasons beyond that of which I will cover today, but for the sake of keeping this short, I’ll stick to the easy ones.

Why do people join up?

There are many reasons for people to join the military; patriotism, family tradition, and job security. There are more, but it is these three topics that I will cover in this blog today.

Patriotism

To be patriotic is something that is deeply bestowed upon the American people and it certainly shows when compared to other nations around the world.

As a British person walking the streets in California, I see many signs of American patriotism all around; from bumper stickers, to large American flags hanging from government and civilian establishments. (Now, I do not see this as a bad thing at all, but it is extremely different from my experience of patriotism back home in the UK.)

With this high level of patriotism comes a desire to protect and serve the country and the ideals in which it holds dear. People in this category have signed their lives over to the military whilst holding this sense of duty. Essentially, they have signed a blank cheque and handed it over to the military- the maximum cost of which could end up being his/her life.

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking; “It doesn’t matter why somebody signs up, it just matters that they did.”. And I honestly agree with that to a certain degree. In my humble opinion, joining the military due a sense of patriotism is the most honourable way to do it. And with that said, it is the people that do this that should be respected most.

Family Tradition

Many people also join the military in order to follow the family tradition. He/she may have grown up in a household where mum or dad were in the military and so they spent their whole childhood growing up on military bases across the globe. Essentially, they wouldn’t know any different and so would end up joining the military because “thats what my parents did”. It is not these people that I am speaking of in this section.

The people I am speaking of are those that grew up in the knowledge that for many generations before them, somebody in the family was in the military. Parents, grandparents and great grandparents etc.

The reason I find these two different is that one is choosing the path just because a parent did and the other is doing it for the historical family name. Although similar, there is a mild distinction between the two.

Those that joined for the sake of their ancestry are different from the patriotic group (although they may also be patriotic) because they would at some point have decided to serve their family heritage more so than their country.

“I mustn’t let down my ancestors!”

Some of these people may also find their way into filling the same roles as the family had done in the past- An engineer in the Air Force etc.

Job Security

A life in the military is a fairly secure one (in the sense of steady employment) because you sign contracts etc in order to join. For some people, it is this reason that they decide to enlist. Maybe, they have bounced from one job to another repeatedly and have finally had enough of doing this and want to actually have that single job to make a lifelong career out of.

It is exactly that- A lifelong career.

These people aren’t any worse than the previous two. I am merely trying to point out the different reasons behind a persons decision to join.

To Conclude

I make this distinction between the three groups because it allows you to see why people do the things they do. The important part of this whole blog is the fact that, although these people joined for reasons of their own, they have still joined. They all wear the uniform and serve their country with honour and integrity. It is for this reason alone that I feel the military should be respected.

These men and women do as they are ordered to do. They might not agree with what they have been asked to do, where they have been told to go etc. But they do it all the same, because, they chose this life; A life of service- to watch over and protect the citizens of their nation and perhaps even other nations from around the world. These people are in the firing line, taking that position there so that you don’t have to….