Small Steps Go Places ®: RISK, CHOICE, AND CONTROL

I have been very busy since my last post. It feels overwhelming to think about catching up but not overwhelming to pick some highlights. Maybe that makes sense for some of you, too. I think I live in fear of not doing enough and feeling that taking some small steps

will not lead far enough only to find that I am unraveling a big skein of life, and if I don't take those initial first small steps the skein is going to sit there untouched, getting dusty from no use or new observation. And, when the unraveling begins….WHOA!

There are three words that thread their way through my days

RISK

CHOICE

CONTROL

If you think about it, these words can be applied to just about any situation, and even in this order.

I went to a Guidance Counselor Workshop offered by the College Board (think SAT) several weeks ago. I wanted to increase my credibility when speaking to students, parents or guidance counselors about my game. It was a RISK to call and ask to come. It was a CHOICE to follow through and go, and once I arrived to choose a seat, talk about myself and what I am doing, and even raise my hand to offer my thoughts. I was in CONTROL of how long I stayed, and the fact that I tried to get into the conference that was taking place during the rest of the week.

Go back to my earlier posts and notice the reference to Life in Motion Yoga (The Power To Do Something Meaningful, 9/17/13). I took the RISK of making a commitment to going to yoga. That means I go whether feeling wonderful or not and chance falling on my face while trying to balance on one foot. It is my CHOICE because I can not go at any time because there are innumerable things to do in the place of practicing yoga and so each time I choose to go. I am in CONTROL because I have chosen not to go a couple of times because more important things came up but then I went again despite having to face the resistance I had built up. And, ultimately, it helps me because when things happen my feelings of stress and annoyance are much lower.

Go to my earlier post about learning being hard and that will help you prepare to appreciate what a high school student and high school parent faces when the question of IS COLLEGE A GOOD FIT FOR ME? comes up. Going to high school was a risk but leaving high school for the next leg of the journey is fraught with RISKS! I don't mean the kind of health and death-defying risks I helped adolescents deal with when I designed and ran an HIV Prevention group. RISK, like Stress, gets a bad name if not used correctly and carefully.

According to Merriam-Webster, RISK is defined as something bad happening or someone being in a harmful situation. RISK also means taking a chance which involves discomfort and imperfection. No pain, no gain--right? But, I hope we can minimize the pain and maximize the gain by being smart with where the risks get taken. More about that later…

Today, I am going to exercise RISK, CHOICE, and CONTROL with the belief that we all have THE POWER TO DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL. I am going to risk showing you my Power Point mockup of a game focusing on DISTRACTIONS. It is my CHOICE, even though it is not perfect and will probably bring about questions. I am in CONTROL because I have created it, and maybe when it is done it will become meaningful.