Why I No Longer Wait To Take Chances

2021 was an enormous year for our family.

My boys began boarding at their high school M-F,

I got a full hip replacement in August,

Joe, my husband,  got diagnosed with kidney cancer in October,

And died a few months later in December.

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When we took this picture,

We had no idea Joe had an aggressive cancer slowly killing him.

While I had finally lost the battle of trying to fix my hip on my own.

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All this to say that life comes at you fast.

I wasn’t even 50 when I needed the hip replacement,

Joe had just turned 57 when he passed.

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Here’s the thing though,

My hip was bothering me for years before I actually had surgery.

First it was a little discomfort here and there …

Then I wasn’t able to hike anymore,

Then I couldn’t walk the dogs,

Then I would cry just thinking I’d had to go to the kitchen to get water because walking hurt so much. 

Finally, I lived on crutches and Advil for a few months.

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My life got smaller and smaller because I didn’t do the scary thing: surgery.

I was terrified of it.

But the problem got so bad I could no longer ignore it.

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I asked my doctor if there would come a day when I would walk again without pain.

After all, I had done 3 Ironman triathlons … 

I can handle physical pain, and I can handle long ordeals,

But this was just too much for me.

He promised me that one day, I would walk again without a thought.

It’s 2023, and that is definitely true.

I just get up and go.

Something that wasn’t possible in 2021.

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And it’s the same with our lives and our dreams …

How much pain must we be in to take the scary action and do the scary thing?

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WE get to decide that.

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After 2021 – I decided to change.

I do the scary thing NOW.

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I’ve moved cities,

Bought and sold real estate,

Grew and then scaled back my business,

Invested in both systems and training.

I stopped hiding behind my fears.

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Sometimes it works for the best,

Other times not as much.

But it’s always moving forward.

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I lived in pain because I was too afraid to take action.

And then I witnessed my young, healthy, husband be consumed by cancer in a couple of months.

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Do the “thing” NOW.

Whatever it is. Just do it.

Next year … heck the next hour … is not guaranteed.

And if it does come, 

I prefer to enjoy the ride,

Instead of enduring the pain.