Taking a shot

You know that famous saying by Wayne Gretzky, "you  miss 100% of the shots you don't take"?   I've been rolling that one around in my head a lot recently.

Syd's not afraid to strike a soccer shot!

I'm not an athlete so this little gem is more of a metaphor for me right now that I can apply to taking a risk in my personal and professional life.

Last week I had a choice to make.  A shot to take.   I've taken this shot before and missed.   And it hurt.
Life presented me with another opportunity to take this shot and I had to fight the urge to run fast in the other direction.  Instead, with my cheering squad behind me (you know who you are)  I pulled up my bootstraps and took that shot again.   It was not an easy risk for me to take.   It was something I had to do to better myself, to further my career options in the future and to challenge myself to step outside my comfort level.

I don't know what will come of any of it, but at least I tried.

This year is a turning point for me.   My 3 munchkins will be attending school full time and I can put more emphasis on my teaching life.   This will be a pretty big challenge for me, but one that I believe myself to be capable of. It won't be easy and it's going to take hard work, dedication and a tough skin. But I'm getting back in the game, slowly.   I took the shot.   Now that I have, the next one might not be so scary!