fbpx

Are You Cautious About the Wrong Things?


by Ryan Biddulph

All products and services featured on this site are independently selected by our authors and editors. If you buy something through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

I just went for a nice hike through the forest.

The Adirondacks is a deep, vast wilderness in upstate New York.

I found myself looking down at the path for most of the journey because rocks, roots and mud seemed to foil me at every turn. Looking up for even a few seconds would have guaranteed me stumbling and tripping.

When I made it to the paved, flat county road I’d have been a fool to look down at the road. Why? The smooth road posed no threat but pick up truck happy locals barreling down the road at 60 MPH or more make for dangerous crossings in some spots.

Woods-hiking requires looking down at the ground, not up at the forest; at least until you sit down for a break. Crossing the road requires looking left and right for cars speeding by, not down at the ground, smooth, clear pavement.

I had to know how to exercise caution to avoid breaking an ankle – or worse – or being road pizza. More than that, exercising the right type of caution helped me to enjoy the experience while reducing the risk of any negative side effects.

What Are You Cautious About?

In the above example, people sometimes look around in the forest and down when crossing the street. Why? Folks tend to be gun-shy after suffering some heartache, trauma or rough situation.

I recall a former co-worker. He worked a menial job. But if he invested a small portion of his money decades prior, he never would have needed to work again.

He shared with me how he lost a decent chunk of change during a market downturn a long time ago. Never again! He pulled completely out of the market, vowing to never invest money, and versus earning a handsome return on investment through a conservative vehicle for decades, he worked 2 non-skill jobs eating up 16 hours of his day. Never mind the fact he was of retirement age.

He became overly cautious about losing money versus learning from his mistake and investing money in a conservative vehicle that would have padded his nest egg. He should have been cautious about choosing an investment vehicle, not about investing money itself.

Shift Your Caution

What are you cautious about? Do you worry about the wrong things? Playing it safe often leads to pain and heartache down the road or at the least, wasting your time and energy now. I recall observing someone terrified to do anything financially online for fear of losing her money due to hacking issues. She never had to face that fear but wasted precious hours of her life writing checks and mailing out bills versus being cautious about ensuring her bank and bill paying sites proved to be secure.

Being cautious about the right things would have saved a substantial chunk of time and energy as her bill paying process could have been entirely passive, automated and seamless.

Observe your fears. Perhaps it’s time to be careful about different things. 

Exhibit a higher level of caution regarding different areas of your life to save your time, energy and to expand your freedom.

About the Author 

Ryan Biddulph

Ryan Biddulph helps you learn how to blog at Blogging From Paradise.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

I'm a big proponent of spending quality time with family. Unfortunately, vacations can add up in a hurry, especially flights. That's why

Read More
How I Got Free Flights to Hawaii

I set an intent a few months ago. Live and let live. I held an intent to allow my wife to live

Read More
1 Way to Promote Peace of Mind

“You can do anything you put your mind to.” Ahh, the sweet innocence of optimistic thinking. I love the intent behind the

Read More
Why You CAN’T Do Anything You Put Your Mind To

Back at the beginning of 2020, no one thought that we’re facing the biggest economic crisis the modern world has ever seen.

Read More
Is Pandemic the Right Time to Use Your Financial Cushion?

Why are some people considered leaders and others not? I can tell you in two words. Leaders Lead! There have been volumes

Read More
What Makes a Leader a Leader?

I observed 2 high school superstars travel differing trajectories. One star chose to develop his skills and became one of the most

Read More
Do You Rely on Sheer Physical Exertion or Skills?

I am watching a comedy on Hulu now. Someone blames their failure on growing up in certain circumstances. A few minutes prior,

Read More
Watch Out for Poisonous Negative Influences

I spent the past week unfollowing 1000's of people through Twitter and Instagram. I also unfriended some folks on Facebook. Why? I

Read More
Who Do You Follow and Friend on Social Media?

Most people think that they'll get to the stuff they have been procrastinating once they feel motivated to do it. However, this is

Read More
Why You Should Not Wait for Motivation

Scientists have found that trees grown in an artificial environment with little stress in their lives grow fast, but are extremely weak

Read More
Is Stress Good for Us?

Our book of the month is Balance: Creating a Well-Balanced Vision for Your Life. Have you ever found yourself working so hard

Read More
Book of the Month – Balance: Creating a Well Balanced Vision for Your Life

People tend to fail at ventures by playing small for playing big would mean facing all types of fears. Imagine you start

Read More
1 Common Cause of Failure Related to Playing Small

SUBSCRIBE

Get new articles and course discounts from leading providers every Friday in your inbox with your free subscription!

>