Risk

The African impala has the amazing ability of being able to leap 10 feet in the air and cover a distance of 10 yards in one jump, and yet the animal can be contained in a compound with walls only 3 or 4 feet high! Why? – Because the impala won’t jump unless it can see where it’s going to land. As a result impalas can be captured and imprisoned using their own self-imposed limitations. Many people act the same way: They are captured and imprisoned by their own self-imposed limitations, i.e. fear. The only way to escape the ‘impala syndrome’ is to take a risk and jump. You may not be able to see what’s on the other side of the wall, but if you don’t jump you’ll die wondering.

Two seeds lay dormant in the soil in the corner of a farmyard. The first little seed wanted to grow big and strong and produce fruit and seed of its own. So the first little seed sent its roots deep into the earth where it was able to find all the water and nutrients that it needed. The seed established a root system to provide an anchor that would give the seedling, then the sapling and finally the plant, the stability it would need to sustain its future growth. The seed grew and developed limbs and stretched them towards the sky so that it could feel the sun’s caressing rays upon its foliage and provide abundant fruit that would be enjoyed by many. This first little seed had lofty ambitions and it became the beautiful plant that it had always dreamed of becoming.

The second little seed also wanted the same things, but the second little seed was afraid. The soil was cold and dark and uninviting. The second seed was afraid that if it sent its roots down into the earth, it might encounter rocks or even worse, a worm! (Worms, of course, are very partial to tender roots!) And what if the seed should sprout; surely the delicate little sprouts would be damaged trying to push through the heavy compacted soil above it. And if, perchance, the shoots did manage to make it to the surface, wouldn’t they be trampled underfoot, or scorched by the burning sun or strangled by the other plants all vying for the same space? The second little seed decided it was too risky! It would wait and see what happened to the other seed first. Besides which, the seed was quite comfortable where it was. For the time being, at least, the second little seed decided to play it safe and remain dormant. Unfortunately, however, that very same morning a farmyard hen scratching about in the undergrowth discovered the dormant seed and promptly ate it!

Now the message behind this tale is simply this: Those who choose not to take risks often get eaten up with the why’s and worries of the world. Don’t let that happen to you; don’t be eaten away by whys and worries and fears. Instead, remember that nothing ventured is nothing gained.

R. Ian Seymour

R. Ian Seymour, except adapted from Discover Your True Potential

Have you ever watched a young fledgling bird attempting to fly? The bird starts off by flapping its wings – on the spot, as it were – to exercise them, to get the feel of the wind and to learn how to judge the air currents. Eventually, the bird picks up enough courage to take the leap of faith; to take its feet of the ground and launch itself into the air. Usually, what happens is the bird aims for an adjacent branch on the same or a nearby tree and attempts to make a dash for it. Sometimes the bird makes it but often it will fail to reach its intended target and crash land on some other branch. Does the young bird give up? – No, of course not. – It tries and tries again until it eventually achieves its objective. There is an important lesson behind this little escapade. The message is this: It is better to take a risk and launch out into new territory than to live your whole life in a place that you don’t want to be.

R. Ian Seymour