"Do not climb higher than you are afraid to fall"--Posted at a climbing gym.

And I was thinking how we all use this lesson for life: Do not climb higher than you are afraid to fall. It's all about risk, good and bad.

Bad risk; When we hold back from achieving anything because we are afraid of failure. We stop just short of the goal because acheiving the goal and losing it later would be entirely too painful. We hold back from love and from our friends because we don't want to risk losing them.

Good Risk; When we take that chance on a career, a sport or love and friendship- When we throw that caution to the wind. We say "Failure? Who me? So What! Bring it on!!" We take that risk and we come out for the better on the other side.

I have a friend that was recently released from a very high profile public job. His entire career was based on taking risks that moved him to the top of his field. The fall was large, so was the risk worth it? Do larger falls hurt more than small setbacks? I'm sure he would say that he took great risks (willingly) and that this "fall" hurts terribly at this moment. However, I also know that this person is an experienced risk taker and that he will saddle up and try it again...and he will succeed. He will succeed because he respects the risk and he doesn't worry about the fall.

There is a David Wilcox song that goes,

" Balance is no harder after all
Out across this bridge so tall
Balance is no harder
Its just that you've got farther
Now you've just got farther to fall"

So, what kind of risk are you; good or bad? Have you been holding back? Maybe the secret is not to worry about the fall..........