That's One Giant Step...

Let's talk about fear. Not the kind of fear that you feel when you see a scary monster, or some kind of horrifying scene with blood and what not. I want to talk about the kind of fear that most of us experience daily: the fear of the future. Right now, I find myself coming up to a rather large fork in the road of my life. I could stay the course and play it safe, or I could take that turn and change things. I suppose that this option has always been available too me, yet the possibility for this change feels more tangible than it ever has before.

Last night while at work, I found myself stressing about this decision and mulling it over and over and over again. While I was having a self contained panic attack, I was also working at my job, which required me to push skids of boxes across the floor like Link from the Legend of Zelda pushing large boxes to solve puzzles.

This got me thinking about my boy Link, and what he was doing before he set off on his adventure that would earn him the title of "The Hero of Time". The aforementioned fork in the road of my life would be a dramatic change for me, as was the decision for Link to step outside his house and set off on his adventure. What I find to be confusing, and rather envious of, is Link's willingness to do so. Link does not stress about what he is leaving behind. Nor does he fear the potential failure of moving ahead. Link just heads out, without a second thought, because that's what he's supposed to do.

Life is nothing like a video game. Things are way too open ended. There are too many decisions to be made that can change our lives on a daily basis. We fear these decisions, because we fear change. We fear the unknown consequences that they will bring. Our digital heroes that we see on screen do not have these fears. Even though we are the ones who are controlling them, they do not worry. We, who have these fears and anxieties. Why do we fear so much? Why are we so afraid of change? Why do we hesitate to step out the door, and set off on adventure?

The consequences of playing a video game and failing is but a simple reset to the last check point, but failure in life could potentially lead to a permanent Game Over. The reason that I stress about this change: is because it's a big deal. It isn't a simple matter of a change of scenery, but also a change in the course of my life. I feel as though making this change could, well, change everything. Sometimes I wish that life were as simple as a video game, where I could follow the path, and end up being the hero. I wish that I didn't have the anxiety of potential failure, like the characters that I play in video games.

What if I took a page from Link's book, and just went out on blind faith that this change was going to be the next step in my quest?  Link does not fear failure. Nor does he worry about letting people down. Link strides out in confidence, and does not look back. I don't think that Link knows that this adventure would be as daunting, or thrilling as it turns out to be. Link doesn't become the hero that he is because he wants the fame that goes along with it. Link doesn't want to have songs written about him. I'm not even sure he does this because he knows that it has to be done. I think that Link takes this step out on faith because he wants change. What is Link doing at the start of every Zelda game? Pretty much nothing. Link is just a normal dude, doing normal things. When the opportunity presents itself, he goes after it.

So, here I stand, seeing that giant fork in the road that could change the course of my life. I'm not sure if it will be for the better. I'm not even sure if it is the right thing to do. But, maybe, I should take a stab at it anyway, because it could lead to a new adventure.