That Will Cost You!

Not sure of the fine print? Did you omit the details of the deal? A failure to pay attention can turn out to be expensive.

Overreact and you might pay more than what’s necessary. Misread the conversation and the opportunity may slip right through your fingers. Use the wrong opening line and the lady might dismiss you forever. Mistakes can be costly. Beyond the loss of dollars and cents are the larger questions we have when it comes to making sense in the first place. We are not always rational.

Many people would like to live their lives completely open. An open heart, open mind, and being open to learning and exploring. They want to discover what’s behind door number 3. The vulnerability, of positioning yourself this way, can cost you. When you choose to see the world through innocent and nonthreatening eyes you may have some sharks swimming near you who think it is their right to take a bite out of you. We must decide for ourselves the sincerity and authenticity of the way we live our lives.

The chances we take reflects, to some degree, what matters to us. The more important something is the more we seem willing to risk. We can lose our vibrancy and vitality by one too many things not going our way. When enough things don’t work out optimism can yield to pessimism. Fight or flight remains faithful in offering us the choice for every life encounter. There is a significant monetary, emotional, and sometimes physical cost to consider in all of our decisions. What will this cost if I do and what will this cost if I don’t.

I think we have all been cautioned about, never say never. I find never has been granted an inflated ego. I have some “never again’s” that are permanent. The book has been closed. I learned my lesson concerning that. It’s over, finished, been there – done that. It’s a matter of wisdom, maturity, and experience. We are resolved enough to mentor any student ready to learn, about that. We have determined the cost, for that particular commodity, is too high. It’s just not worth it.

Then there are the things that may have caused pain, heartache, and discomfort. We say, I’m not going to ever try again. Maybe it’s love, or a dream, or going after a job you really want. You got shut down and it left you unstable, immobilized, or fearful. We artificially inseminate our lives with isolation, disconnection, and cocoon in disappointment. The knock at the door is the same; what will this cost if I choose to never try again? Maybe it is worth it to re-engage in the things I place a high value on. If I stay stunted it could cost me and I might forfeit the very reason I’m alive! Just maybe, in fact, it is worth it. We might need to risk again.

Everything has a price-tag. Whatever you decided will cost you!

Do you think we get what we pay for?