Risky Business

We won our first paintball match during our company sportsfest.

Our boss Nats asked me why I looked unhappy despite the win. I just told her that I was confused with the events, but the truth was, I was unhappy because I felt unfulfilled. I was still alive at the end of the game but I had stayed hidden, so hidden that I did not have the satisfaction of using up my pellets and hitting someone.

I realized then that this applied to life in general. If you stay hidden, sure, you stay safe, but at the end of the day, there is no satisfaction in living a life without taking risks.

So in our third game, I decided to run. I got hit – a painful experience that left a huge purple bruise on my thigh which lasted for weeks. Sometimes, when you take a risk, you end up getting hurt. But I actually felt more fulfilled during that game than in the first two games when I just stayed in one spot.

So the moral lesson? It’s more fun to take a risk, even if you do get hurt. Sure, it’s probably more practical to stay safe. But safe is boring. Safe won’t get me anywhere.

So me, I just took the first step to taking a huge risk today. How about you? What the f**k have you done lately?