Leap of Faith

If you don’t take a chance, how will you ever know?

I was 53 when I signed up for my first 5K race. I had no clue what would happen, or if I could even finish. I was mortified that I would be dead last and would have to do the “Walk of Shame” over the finish line.

At the starting line there were elite runners stretching and chanting their race mantras, cute young women with bare midriffs and “get out of my way” determined looks in their eyes, high school kids who had coaches pepping them up with encouragement and rubbing down their legs…and then, there was me. I didn’t know how I was supposed to act, but I figured that I had paid my money and had gotten up at the crack of dawn to do this thing, so by golly, I was going to see it through.

Well, I finished. And, I didn’t come in last. I even won the women’s division of my age group! Of course, I was the only one in the women’s division of my age group, but they gave me the medal just the same!

More importantly, that day, the inner nerdy, wimpy core of me scored a lot more than a medal. I did something way, way outside my comfort zone, and found out that I love running races! Who’d a thunk it!

So, if you are considering doing something that you’ve never experienced, be brave, and go for it. If you flop, then that’s a good thing, you’ll learn what not to do. If you succeed, that’s a good thing as well and you’ll know if it’s something you want to do again. Either way, you learn and you grow.

But if you waffle on the edge and never try, well, the opportunity to take that leap of faith may be gone tomorrow.

You’ve got this, you beautiful Wimpy Girl! It’s time to fly.