🧵Thursday Thread: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all" ~Helen Keller
🧵Thursday Thread: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all" ~Helen Keller
What's The Biggest Risk You've Ever Taken In Your Life, And How Did It Turn Out?
Hi, friends! Let’s share the risks we’ve taken or want to take—and what we’ve discovered as a result.
This photo of me was taken as I climbed Putucusi Mountain (Happiness Peak) in Peru. I was dedicating my climb to my son, who was going through a terrible time. I was scared for him, and for myself. But I felt brave that day as I climbed that rickety mountain ladder. I’m told I was born brave, climbing and going down slides alone by age one. But I also identify very deeply with O’Keeffe’s observation about being “absolutely terrified” every moment of her life, while never letting it stop her from doing what she wanted to do.
So, yes, I was afraid climbing Putucusi (it was also illegal to climb while I was there). But I climbed anyway. My son is well now, and while I don’t kid myself that my climb saved him, it did help save me, along with many other risks I took back then, all of which also prepared me for the huge risk of writing my memoir. I’m grateful to say I’ve managed to (mostly) befriend my fear, the way Liz Gilbert advises. This allows me to take more risks, yes, but more importantly, it helps me recognize the difference between good fear (new endeavors, public speaking, creative work, etc.) and bad fear (danger, maltreatment). And while not everyone agrees that creativity naturally involves fear, I resonate with Eric Kaplan’s NYT essay, “Five Theses on Creativity,” which says:
Creativity can break your heart. It’s inherently risky … because creativity can fail…. But you can’t get the joy of creativity without risking pain and failure—which is also true of love.
The thing is, I care a lot about my creative work—and caring can be scary. But I figure it’s usually better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all.
In that spirit, tell us: What is the biggest risk you have taken in your life, and how did it turn out? Are you glad you took the risk, or do you regret it?
It needn’t be a creative risk, either! Though the mere orchestration of our lives is always an act of creation. And it needn’t have turned out well. For me, failure has been a wise teacher, but not everything works out in the end. Finally, if you’d rather tell us about a risk you are about to take—or trying to decide about—that’s cool, too.
Whatever you want to tell us about risk, I’m here for it.
Let’s inspire each other, console each other, assure each other, and, most of all, cheer each other on in this daring adventure.