"I Wish I Could Do That"

"I wish I had the balls to do that."

That's what a friend recently said when he heard about my trip. My jaw nearly hit the floor. When talking about having the nerve to do something, mustering the courage, there's no way this guy in particular should be looking up to me. He's a cage fighter. Seriously. He participates in Mixed Martial Arts fights. So how does he not have the balls to take an extended vacation?

The answer is simple. It's unconventional and unknown. Taking a trip is easy if we have reservations at a motel beforehand. If we know where we're going, getting there is easier. It's somehow safer. We know what to expect and we think we can prepare for it.

But if we are going on a trip where there is no destination, where we don't know beforehand where we will sleep each night or how far we will travel each day, then the entire ordeal is clouded in uncertainty. What will we eat. Where will we sleep? What if it rains? What if it gets hot? Cold? Hurricane? Lions and tigers and bears? Oh my!

The mind has a difficult time coming up with plans and solutions to deal with the endless possibilities for disaster and the trip suddenly seams impossible. But those millions of things that can go wrong don't always go wrong and they certainly don't all go wrong at once.

Sure, it'll start raining while I'm traveling. And I'll deal with that when it happens. If it gets cold, I'll deal with that also.

Why do we tell ourselves that we can't do something? Why do we tell ourselves that we shouldn't even try? Instead of making an attempt, we resign ourselves to inactivity for fear of the potential failure or shortcoming. And when it's all said and done, we have failed ourselves without even trying.