Live Big. No Fear. No Regrets.

A long time ago, I spent a summer “on project” with Campus Crusade for Christ. Over the summer we had lots of people come and speak to us. One night a speaker said something that really changed my life. He said “you are free to fail, you are not free not to try”. Failure is acceptable. It’s sitting there not trying because something is too scary that is not acceptable.

What an earth shattering concept for me. It’s ok to fail? What? No way…that can’t be true! But it is! And I’ve been ruminating on that phrase for years now, allowing it to change the way I view the world and how I do things. Over the years, I've modified the phrase to "Live Big. No Fears. No Regrets". I know, it sounds like a cheesy t-shirt from the 90's but those words really capture how I want to live my life.

Now, I’m not a super extreme risk taker or anything like that but when opportunities come my way that scare me or are out of my comfort zone, I allow myself to give it a try and not to regret the outcome. What's the worst that can happen? I look silly? Hey, I’ve fallen down stairs in the mall. During Christmastime. Looking silly seriously doesn't really phase me much any more.

But I don’t always fail. I don’t always look silly. Many times I have fun. I learn something new. I expand who I am.

Allowing myself the freedom to try and to fail has really changed my life. For example…Kevin and I now live in Texas. This was really quite scary. There were many many many unknowns. But our view was well…what’s the worst that can happen? We hate it. Ok. So then we move somewhere else. But what’s the best that can happen? Well, there were were more good things than bad that could happen. So here we are. And for the most our move has been a great success.

Now moving from Idaho to Texas is probably one of the more extreme examples of how my motto has played out in my life. On a day to day basis I apply it to little things. Like trying a new food. I used to be an EXTREME picky eater. But several years ago I decided that I was being ridiculous and now every year, I add 5 or more new foods to my repertoire (like dark chocolate or bell peppers or mustard or fish). I now like way more food than I used to and this is a good thing because it’s hard to be an adult who will only eat hamburgers and chicken nuggets.

I will be talking a little bit more about my motto tomorrow and how it's helping me live the life I was created for. But I'm curious, does anyone else have a motto that they use to enhance how they live their lives?