How to save a life

Somewhere in my personal journey (it could have been a podcast or a book, I don't really recall) I came across this quote from a fairly recent Matt Damon movie called We bought a Zoo and it goes like this:

You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.

So I bought the movie (because I'm blessed with the gift of a bit of disposable income) and left it on a shelf until today, a random Saturday afternoon, I found some time to get to watch it. It is a wonderful movie and that quote just completely brought it home to me.

Twenty seconds of insane courage.

That's all there is to it.

And it got me thinking about my life six years ago. Back in 2010 I took a sharp turn straight outside my comfort zone and I dared to say yes. I dared to chase something that for all I knew back then might be all in my head. I said yes and he said yes back. And that's how this - my best - adventure got started.

For the briefest of moments I looked the Universe in the eye (metaphorically speaking, of course) and despite all my fears tugging at the hem of my skirt, begging me to turn around, I said hell yes! And then I just had to follow through. My yes created a door and all I had to do after that was walk through it and carry on wherever it led. 

It is an inspiring thought. All you need is to muster 20 seconds of to-hell-with-it courage and you might end up somewhere completely different.

So tonight, when I seem to have awaken to the mess I created in my own life, this is reassuring. This means that great change is just around the corner. And all I need is to throw myself outside of my comfort zone for 20 seconds. That's less than you can hold your breath for.

So this is now my mantra for when things get scary or tough; I can moan how much and how loud I want, if first I give myself 20 seconds of insane courage.

Because that might just save my life. Again.