Though I try to live by my new life motto of “BE BOLD,” I feel that I am still not risky enough sometimes.
But I want to change that.
After my run this morning, I was hot. Ridiculously hot. I’m not sure what the humidity level was, but I’m fairly certain it was near the deadly levels. By the time I finished, I was pretty drenched in sweat and felt disgusting the whole car ride home from the lake. All I could think about was jumping in my pool, and I even purposely drove with the windows down so that I wouldn’t cool down with the A/C.
I stopped by my apartment before I went downstairs so that I could get a towel, but then I started to change my mind about my pool idea once I just put my legs in–the water was really cold! I sat there for a bit with only my legs in the water, feeling more like I was giving them an ice bath for the rough hill workout I had put them through that morning. I decided I was not getting in the pool because of the temperature. No way.
But I kept staring down at the water, imagining myself diving in head-first. Just do it, said a little voice from the back of my mind. I kept seeing it happen but not actually doing it.
Now, you might be thinking, What the heck is the big deal? I know. It’s a pool. In the summer. In the Texas summer. But there was something in me that simply didn’t have the nerve to submerge my entire body into the chilly morning water, especially now that my body wasn’t as heated from my run.
Then something changed–something ticked that reminded me that sitting on the ledge of the pool is not boldness. I don’t want to be a pansy anymore. So I didn’t even let myself have another though but, instead, dove in the water. I came back to the surface, and I’m sure the maintenance man who looked like he was about to put chemicals in the pool couldn’t figure out why I had such a nerdy grin on my face when all I had done was jump in a pool.
But he doesn’t know the significance of that moment.
I want to make a more concerted effort to be bold in all areas of my life–but there’s one area I certainly have some work to do. I’ve never been brave when it comes to telling guys how I feel about them; in fact, I usually try to hide my feelings as best as I can. Not anymore. Even if I have to pull a Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses and profess my love to someone on a boat full of strangers with a microphone in my hand, then so be it.
Sometimes in life, you can’t think twice–you just have to dive in head-first and trust that it’s the right thing to do.
“Wouldn’t you rather take a chance than always wonder what could have been?” –One Tree Hill
