Why Now is NOT the Time to Play it Safe

I’ve been chewing on this since March of 2020…

Clearly, I don’t need to go into any details about the recent span of human history we’re living in, so let’s hop right in, shall we?

In a world where everything is about safety, about protection, about playing the odds and having them fall in our favor, I believe now, more than ever, is the time to throw caution to the wind and stop playing it safe.

Now, before you think I’ve fallen off the rails, and that I’m going to tell everyone to overrun the hospital system with haphazard behavior, hear me out:

The past year and a half has put us in a state of constant panic, of frequent isolation, and a closed-off survival mindset. And for understandable reasons.

But I want to toss something out there: to what degree has this mindset transferred over into the other areas of your life?

Do a self-check for a minute: other than protecting your health (which I support, by the way), in what other areas have you had a heightened sense of self-protection?

Perhaps it’s your career?

Have you forgone certain risks that might pay off handsomely, in an effort to protect the job or position you currently have?

Or maybe you’ve played it safe in the job market, unemployed but waiting for that perfect opportunity, when a perfectly reasonable (and paying) gig is right in front of you?

How about relationally?

Are there people in your life that you desperately need to reconnect with, but fear blocks you from sending that first text or making that first call?

Are there areas that you’re being stretched in emotionally, and you find yourself having to choose between entering into those difficult areas (and growing tremendously because of it), or locking those parts of your heart away and avoiding the pain and challenge of dealing with the hard stuff?

I don’t know about you, but when I die, I don’t want people to be talking about how safe I lived my life. Safety is like driving a Volvo – sure, it’s got appeal, but it’s not something people tell stories about afterwards.

I want to be known as a person who took steps forward when others were retreating. I want to be known as a man who loved his wife well, and who took emotional risks, coming out of safety for the sake of the best relationship possible.

I want to be known as a business owner who didn’t shrink back when times got tough, but who instead took courageous steps to lead well and to keep moving forward, staring in the face any potential murky unknowns that may lie ahead.

I want to be known as a father who took creative steps to reach his teenage children, moving toward them instead of requiring that they move toward me.

Now here’s the thing: If you take emotional risks, and I take emotional risks, then you and I have each other as support. If we all take courageous steps forward, we now have a community of bold people who know what it’s like to stare down the scary stuff and who walk in it and through it together.

And so, while it might seem isolating to be the one courageous person you know, would you rather be isolated in courage, or isolated in safety?

And the beauty of being isolated in courage is that you’ll find other like-minded people who can provide mutual support. Because when others shrink back, it’s easier to spot the ones who have stepped forward. And when you step forward, it just might provide someone else with the courage to do the same. Play that scenario out a few iterations; imagine what that could look like?

The problem with the safety mentality is that when we do this in one area of our lives, we run the risk of letting that take over the other area of our lives as well. 

We need people of courage. We need people who are willing to take a few risks.

Because the truth is, we’re all going to pass away at some point in time. I don’t know when my time is; I don’t know when your time is.

But I do know what I want people talking about when I die.

And it’s not that I drove a Volvo…