The Jambar Column: Taking chances and trusting yourself

Pictured: Mac Pomeroy. Photo Courtesy of Mac Pomeroy

By Mac Pomeroy

Recently, a friend of mine made a huge leap to improve her life. It was a challenging decision, one that would possibly receive a great deal of backlash and involve leaving her whole life in Youngstown behind. However, she decided to take a chance, and she did it.

She uprooted her whole life, and she left. She went somewhere that she felt like herself again, and she was happier. Yes, there were some negative consequences, but not as many as she expected. The risk was worth it.

There are many choices in life, and many paths we can take. Often, these may seem quite difficult — too much risk involved, or not enough information.

In these situations, it can be great to consult with people we trust. They can give us another opinion, help guide us in the right direction.

Other times, they can just muddle up and become nagging voices in our heads. These voices cloud our thoughts and make proper judgement so much more complicated.

In cases like this, it is best to trust our own judgement and intuition. In other words, follow your gut.

When you are stuck in a difficult choice, especially one that can make large impacts on your daily life, often there is no one that can understand what would be best for you as well as yourself. 

For my friend I mentioned prior, there was a lot she left behind. Her school plans, family, activities. None of these were easy to leave, and she was scared that she would quickly regret it.

And yes, her choice did impact others. Her friends and family miss her, and there are holes she left that are going to take time to fill. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t do the right thing.

Because even though her decision to leave Ohio was hard, and there were bridges burnt, she’s happy. For the first time in so long, she genuinely feels happy.

By trusting her own intuition and taking a huge risk, it paid off in the best case scenario.

Even if our decisions can impact those around us, we sometimes need to think of ourselves first. We need to stretch our wings and reach for what is next.