Where do you throw caution to the wind?
Do you throw caution to the wind when it comes to your eating habits? Smoking? Drinking? Sex? Your health habits? Spending? Shopping? Gambling? Candy Crush? Netflix?
Let me ask you something. If you are throwing caution to the wind in any of these areas of your life, where else in your life would you like to be throwing caution to the wind?
I think the reason why so many people throw caution to the wind when it comes to their nutrition and lifestyle is because there is less of a perceived risk associated with it.
It’s easy to mow down a full pizza with extra cheese, a full bag of cookies or an entire bottle of wine – those are easy choices. It tastes good, it meets all my needs, I can comfort and soothe myself with food, I can connect with other people through food, I can let myself feel like a kid again, I can be irresponsible, I can control it, I have access to it, I associate pleasure to it and I can use it to numb myself so I don’t have to deal with the emotions I am feeling.
We don’t associate huge risks with food in our minds because it gives us immediate satisfaction. The moment we can lift that pizza to our lips and sink our teeth into its gooey cheesy goodness, we get an instant rush of pleasure. Comfort, satiation, satisfaction, connectedness – it’s all right there in that first bite of squishy warm heaven. It’s no wonder it’s so hard to resist foods that make us sick. It does so much for us in the moment!
But the truth is that we all know what the risks are for eating the foods that damage our bodies. The fact of the matter is, in that moment, we don’t care.
But rest assured, it is costing us. And we see it everywhere. And one day we know we will pay the price for throwing caution to the wind when it comes to our food choices.
So what about all those other areas of your life? Are there places in your life where you would like to be throwing caution to the wind, but haven’t? And what are the reasons why you haven’t thrown caution to the wind in those areas?
I can tell you why you haven’t. It’s because you perceive a greater risk in doing so. But I’m here today to question you about that. Because I truly believe we are kidding ourselves.
When I think about the areas of my life where I would like to be throwing caution to the wind, I think about my business. I think about all the things I would like to be doing, all the people I would like to dealing with and all the risks I would like to be taking. And I think about what it would mean for myself and my business if I were to become willing to take those risks.
And why is it that those risks seem so much more daunting than risking my own life and health for the sake of a couple of minutes of pizza induced ecstasy?
I can tell you why. It’s because the thing we fear most is not being worthy of our own power.
We fear that we are powerful beyond measure because we fear that we are not enough. And we may not be worthy of that kind of power. And we fear that we may not be able to handle it, or what it will require from us if we step into it.
So it’s easier to just stay small and eat pizza. And sleep in. And be lazy. And neglect what it is that we know we need to do. It’s actually a whole heckuva lot easier to eat pizza. And watch television. And live off of our spouse.
But is it? Is It really easier to keep pretending that you don’t know what the heck it is that you’re doing? Is it really easier to keep hiding your power and your ability and keep pretending that you don’t really care to reach your full potential? And will it really be easier, you know, later on down the road when you have to look back at your life and question how you spent it?
I’ll tell you what. The older I get, the less I buy into that bullpucky. The older I get the more I realize just how much time I have wasted in my life pretending to be something I’m not. The older I get the more I am starting to realize, I think I’m starting to run out of time for this nonsense.
I never wanted or intended to play small with my life. I remember being a little kid who had big dreams and big ideas. I had huge ideas about what I wanted to do with my life.
Do you remember that? What it was like to be a kid with your whole life ahead of you and dream about all the things you wanted to do? I wanted to save the world! I wanted to become a singer and an artist and a philanthropist and I wanted to open a tremendous orphanage where I could take in all those poor kids who had nobody to love them. I wanted to travel the world and bring about change and help people and have the most amazing experiences. I wanted to live the fullness of my being and my capability. Because I knew I had it in me!
But what the heck happens to us in life? Where do those dreams go and why do we stop believing in them? Where do we lose our sense of hope and our determination and our willpower? Where does it go and how does it slip away without us noticing that it’s happening?
When I think about all the places in my life where I should be throwing caution to the wind, at my age, I can assure you that it isn’t on pizza. I should be tossing caution out the window and embracing every opportunity that presents itself to me – that’s what I should be doing.
I should be throwing caution out the window and being honest and open in my relationships and in my communications with people. I think I should be throwing caution to the wind when it comes to my body and push myself to keep moving it so it doesn’t seize up and I lose all my muscle. That’s what I should be doing.
And I should be throwing caution to the wind by now and putting myself out there in front of people so that I can share my message and help the people that I am supposed to be helping with my work.
I should also be throwing caution to the wind and living my life the way that I keep saying I want to be living it – enjoying the outdoors and hiking and kayaking and painting and meeting interesting people and going to interesting places and enjoying all kinds of exciting experiences and activities. That’s what I should be doing.
And I should be throwing caution to the wind when it comes to hoarding my time and hiding behind a computer and in my head instead of being out there living my life. I should be feeling the wind on my face and the earth beneath my feet and looking up at the sky at night and watching the stars.
And I should be throwing caution to the wind in my relationships and stop worrying about people being open and accepting of me and just love them unconditionally and with everything I have in me. I should be throwing my arms around my children and squeezing the breath out of them until I lose my strength and every last drop of love I have in me is spent on letting them know how much they mean to me. Yeah, that’s what I should be doing.
And I should be going around shouting from the rooftops to people that you shouldn’t be suffering needlessly when there are things out there that can help you heal and get on with your life. I should be telling anyone and everyone I meet how powerful my work is and how much I know it can help them because it has helped me and a lot of other people I really care about. I should be telling people that they have no idea what they are missing out on because they’re so scared to shell out a couple of bucks trying to learn about it but it could totally change their lives as well as the lives of everyone they come into contact with in the future.
I should be singing Karaoke and standing on mountaintops and messing up my kitchen and interviewing really fascinating people, and kayaking in the ocean and painting murals and writing books and poetry and teaching kids how to be fearless and metal detecting so I can find treasure, and bungee jumping and hand gliding and parachuting out of airplanes and riding horseback through Montana and taking pictures of the Grand Canyon and mountain biking in British Columbia, and hiking in Jasper and Banff and standing in awe at the base of the pyramids and exploring Italy and Rome and floating down the river in Switzerland and playing on the beach in Hawaii and surfing the waves in California and taking in the glory of Machu Picchu.
These are the things I think I should be doing with my life. I shouldn’t be here thinking I’m throwing caution to the wind by eating frigging pizza. I don't think any of us should be. I think we should all be out there living our lives, embracing all the uncertainty and doing everything we can with what we have left. That’s where I think we should be throwing caution to the wind.
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About the author Tamara Dodgson is a Certified Strategic Intervention Coach and owner with Forward Coaching and Consulting Services. Utilizing the most powerful principles and strategies from master Strategic Interventionists, Tamara offers a sound, knowledgeable and dependable methodology for change. She has successfully helped her clients navigate through hundreds of unique and challenging life situations, often involving complex issues such as addictions, divorce, and criminal proceedings. Tamara empowers her clients by helping them identify what they want, teaching them successful and proven strategies for change and providing them with measurable and lasting results. You can connect with her on Facebook at Forward Coaching & Consulting Services, on LinkedIn at Tamara Dodgson, on her website at www.tamaradodgson.com, or via email at coaching@tamaradodgson.com.
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