The Agony of Not Trying: Doomed to Sameness
To some, not knowing what is out there is no big deal. They are not curious enough, they have no goal to pursue, and they don’t have the drive to pursue it. They are content with what they have and have resigned themselves to staying that way to the end.
They may be content, but to others, this is an intolerable state of affairs. Staying the way you are is tantamount to being doomed to sameness. They may be content for a while, but sooner or later, they get a spark, a crazy idea. If that idea is successful, they will enter a new realm, and the rest of their life will be vastly different from what they know now.
Danger on the trail
The possibilities eat away at them, the fantasies of all they could be consume them. Then someone or something says, “Maybe you shouldn’t do that. You know this could happen or that could happen.” See: The 7 Qualities of a Pioneer
But it’s too late. The seed has sprouted, and it is growing. “Not try, you say? Curb your
tongue! Away with such a fellow! To the executioners!” By the time you’ve got to this point, the pain of not knowing what would have happened is far worse than the pain of any bad consequences for trying. At least that’s what you think.
The following is a book excerpt about this part of the makeup of a True Pioneer in From Woodstock To Eternity,
“It isn’t enough just to have a dream and work hard to fulfill it. The pioneer is willing to leave behind all the known quantities of his present reality because he sees them as limitations. And, those limitations are like chains to him. He might as well be in leg irons in a dungeon with one little window where he can watch the world outside change and grow while he is forced to tolerate an eternal hell of sameness. When he sees an opportunity that will
Manifest Destiny
enable him to break free of those limitations and latch onto an enterprise with untold possibilities, he has to take it. He is compelled. He will not be able to live with himself if he does not at least give it his best shot. It doesn’t matter that some people will die, others will suffer shipwreck, still more will become discouraged and turn back. He never believes it will happen to him.It isn’t enough just to have a dream and work hard to fulfill it. The pioneer is willing to leave behind all the known quantities of his present reality because he sees them as limitations. And, those limitations are like chains to him. He might as well be in leg irons in a dungeon with one little window where he can watch the world outside change and grow while he is forced to tolerate an eternal hell of sameness. When he sees an opportunity that will enable him to break free of those limitations and latch onto an enterprise with untold possibilities, he has to take it. He is compelled. He will not be able to live with himself if he does not at least give it his best shot. It doesn’t matter that some people will die, others will suffer shipwreck, still more will become discouraged and turn back. He never believes it will happen to him.”
At times it may seem easier and simpler to “not try”, but the consequences of that complacency are far worse than the ease of a simple life. The lack of effort creeps in like a wet blanket, and the longer we try to enjoy our simple life, the more difficult it becomes to stretch our horizons and reach new heights.
This comment is so well written, I am dumbfounded. Andrea Cooper should consider becoming a writer!!
“It doesn’t matter that some people will die, others will suffer shipwreck, still more will become discouraged and turn back.” Ah, but what if you DO, say, shipwreck? And survive? Then you have incredibly unbelievable stories and can say ‘I survived that’! And if you don’t survive, well, then you’ll be with Jesus in Heaven living for eternity. If you’re saved, that is. There is that.