Find Your Gumption

“There’s nothing you

can control about love. 

Somebody once said,

‘Everything you want in the world is

just right outside your comfort zone.

Everything you could possibly want.’”

-Jennifer Aniston Vogue US December 2008

Whether it is love, one’s true life’s passion, or one’s career, the attempt one needs to take in order to acquire what is longed for will most likely call for at least a dash of gumption.

Defined as the courage to act when action is needed, gumption is an ingredient that every individual needs if they want to be deemed successful, or more importantly, if they want to reach their true potential.

I look back on my short life, and I can recall more than a handful of times when I mustered up gumption (maybe more due to my naiveté than anything else, but nonetheless, I gathered it up) and took a step that many might have been too fearful to take.  And if there is one lesson I can share due to the experiences I’ve had, I can say that taking the risk was worth it, and I regret nothing.  Not one single thing.

Whether it be as a new college graduate taking a job in a state that was more than a two days drive away just to ensure that I could be financially independent, or more recently, purchasing a home that was going to stretch my budget for a year or so, but knowing it was a sound investment. Looking back, these were the sanest and most sound decisions I ever made that felt risky at the time.

Jennifer Aniston hit the nail on the head I believe.  So many of us desire something that is just out of our reach.  Think about it.  If it were in our reach, wouldn’t we have taken hold of it by now and made it our own?  It is that extra stretch, that extra bit of tension that is required.  It is almost as if that extra distance is the down payment to ascertain how badly we want it.

Speaking of how badly you want something, what do you want? What are you dreaming for, wishing and hoping for almost every moment you have a quiet second to think?  The next question is, how badly do you want it?  Do you want it badly enough to risk what is going on in your life right now?  Is your situation in life something that you’d sacrifice in order to make your dream a reality?  Is your dream something that without, you’d look back with regret, knowing you never even tried?

Everything – the promotion, the respect, the cushion of security in your bank account, the life you’ve had on replay in your head – is all attainable if you’re willing to stretch and most likely, be willing to jump for.

Take it slow at first if you have to – baby jumps, baby risks.  Work up to it, after all, becoming flexible comes with hours of practice and disciplined stretching and training of your muscles.  But know that there will never be a “perfect” time to step out of your comfort zone, otherwise you wouldn’t ever be stepping out of it.

Have the confidence and enough respect for yourself to deem yourself worthy of living your best life. And since living one’s best life has been a mission of Oprah Winfrey’s, heed her advice, “I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk.”

Yes, you might fall on your nose and break it (metaphorically speaking), but isn’t your life worth leaping for? What if you don’t break your nose, but instead land on your feet? What if? Never settle for a life where you know you aren’t giving and sharing your true potential. Never.

Have a beautiful Monday and thank you for stopping by.  I have a feeling it is going to be a beautiful and promising week. Bon jour!

Images: (1) Oh Fashion Model (2) Hulaabalooo (3) We Heart It (4) Piper Pearl Page (5) Life Has Such Potential