…. Fear of the Unknown

I’m a panicky traveller; the kind who has to look behind, and imagine all the worst situations possible, and then also think how to combat each one of those. Did I mention paranoia? LOL.

Picture this – In Goa for the very first time in life, holding my bag really tight, and walking briskly on the road with the precaution of one who gets followed – correct, THAT is me!

Having said the above, it was the easiest thing for me to understand what my dearest friend must go through on being China bound. Now, did I mention paranoia and panic? Oh, damn I underestimated. Chandni is all that and a tad too “researched”. She read up on crimes in China, on the crime rate in China, human trafficking and any other thing that can completely destroy one’s vacation. For all the potential thieves, Chandni hides her money in 5 different places, one of which is stacked in her socks in the bag. I need to stop talking about her now; else Chandni will block me and also whack me! Hence, reluctantly, but moving on……  The Unknown – as alluring & mysterious as may be, it is scary!

A never explored before career path, an appraisal you’ve prepare endlessly for, a 2 week trip your sister has to take and be away from you – they all scare.

A few years back, I woke up one day, and knew I couldn’t anymore bear to be the software engineer who developed back-end systems&solutions for the world’s largest steel company. Leaving there was the easy part. Figuring out what I had to do next was the most confusing, and scary bit.

So I learned swimming with kids and pinched them under-water (yes, judge you may, I love torturing kids who behave like adults… more about those monsters in another post), went to construction sites (and it thrilled me more each time), shopped (endlessly), and took a vacation (that one’s another story….anyway!). All I know is, I discovered what I wanted for the rest of my life….and am enjoying every bit of it. Just like Chandni enjoyed her trip. :)

It all boils down to one thing -  You’ll probably never get to know what lay ahead, if you chose to not move.

Fear always takes away a lot of “you” very far away from you. It diminishes your confidence and kills your sense of challenge.  It makes you complacent and boring. Just like too much adventure can make you extreme. The key is to balance – to stick around when you are happy and eager, to be patient when it fades, to work on it to bring the spark back, but come on…you got to let go when it becomes a pain. Leap of faith is not such a bad thing fellas! It ends up thrilling you, or killing you, or making you far stronger. :)

That’s enough philosophy and lecture for the month. Will do some fun posts later ;)