No What Ifs

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. He took the day off work and planned out our day. We dropped our kids off to school and made the hour drive to Waitomo Caves. We spend hours rafting in dark caves looking at glowworms and jumping off waterfalls. It was really super fun. The fact that my husband is constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone is one of the reasons why I love him so much. However, there was one part in the cave where you had to squeeze through a small opening head first and wiggle your way through a narrow canal to the other side. The instructor went first followed by my husband and I immediately decided I would not do it and found my way around the other side of the cave and around to meet them. Small spaces give me anxiety and all the possibilities of what could go wrong had flash over in my mind. I took the easier way. I have done this at various times in my life and then looked back wishing I had been braver. I watched all the other members of our group make it through safely and then moved on but found myself regretting my decision. This week as I heard Corey Bell's story, of of his comments stood out to me. He said that at the end of his life he doesn't want to have any "What Ifs" and that he has eliminated the word can't from his vocabulary. When I am faced with decisions like this in the future I will now think for a moment if that will end up being a "What If" moment for me later on in life and if so have the courage to move forward and face my fears.