Crazy? Brave? Fun? You Decide.
What: Kissing the Blarney Stone (covered in the prior germs of hundreds of thousands).
Where: The top of Blarney Castle, Ireland.
When: October 11, 2012.
With: My favorite husband and travel partner.
Why: On a trip to visit the birthplace of 6 of my 8 great-grandparents, in memory of my beloved parents who had died in a car accident five months before.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a physical risk taker. I have no interest in risking life or limb by skydiving, bungee-jumping, riding a motorcycle, or even venturing too far out into the ocean while swimming. I don't have the "thrill" gene... or if I do, it is set to a very, very low level.
Interestingly, however, I have no particular fear of germs. That likely comes from growing up with a father who encouraged us to eat food that had fallen on the floor instead of wasting it. He believed that early exposure to germs would make us stronger. And it did. None of us three kids has serious allergies, and we have been spared any major health issues to date. Hence my lack of reserve in lowering myself backward to kiss an unsanitary piece of Irish rock purely out of tradition.
We all have a different perception of risk. If you had asked me, say, in 2006 whether I would ever leave my secure government job for the opportunity to launch my own business with no guarantee of success, I would have called you crazy. And yet, circumstances change. When I finally did leave full-time employment in 2016 -- abandoning a six-figure salary in exchange for no immediate compensation -- it was because my perception of the risk of becoming a solo-preneur was lower than the risk of remaining in a tired but stable career with a three-hour daily commute. Experiencing the sudden loss of my parents had irrevocably changed my perspective. And I knew that I could provide a service that would help ease other survivors' worry and grief. So I decided to make a big life change before I hit the big 5-0.
Am I doing as well financially as if I had stayed in my full-time career? Not even close. Do I regret my decision? Not in the least. I chose to take the road less traveled by (thank you, Robert Frost). Perhaps you find yourself in that position now, either in where you live, what you do for a living, or whether to follow a longstanding dream. Weigh the benefits and the risks, and then move forward accordingly.
