What if?

One of the things I really enjoy about my audience is the variety of people who read my stories.

I have everyone from grade-schoolers to retirees, which makes writing these letters both exciting and challenging. When I share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences, I want to make them meaningful and relatable, no matter what stage of life you’re in.

Recently, a family member of mine found himself asking a simple question over and over again: “What if?”

He had an opportunity to open a second medical office in a new location and bring his specialty to patients who might not otherwise have easy access to it.

Sounds like a pretty straightforward decision, right?

Well, there was one complication.

He had just turned 60.

And suddenly, those “what ifs” started showing up everywhere. In his car, over dinner, and pretty much any other time his mind had a moment to wander.

"What if I don’t get enough new patients? What if I spend all that money getting the office started and it doesn’t work out? What if I can’t find great people to work with me? What if I’m too old to start something new?"

What began as an exciting opportunity slowly turned into a mixture of doubt, anxiety, and fear. The more he thought about the possibilities, the more reasons he found to question whether he should move forward.

Then, something happened. The most important “what if” finally showed it's face.

It wasn’t about money, pride, or ego. It came from a much deeper place:

“What if I don’t do this and miss the opportunity to help people who need me?”

That was the question that changed everything.

So, he took the plunge and opened the new location.

Has it been easy? Absolutely not. Starting something new never is. There have been long days, plenty of challenges, and those familiar moments of self-doubt still come and go. But he made a decision that I believe will stay with him for the rest of his life: he would rather find out what was possible than spend his remaining years wondering what might have been.

He knew there were no guarantees. No guarantee of success, no guarantee that everything would go according to plan, and certainly no guarantee of tomorrow or next year. But with faith, family, and friends around him, he was willing to take the chance.

And I think there’s a lesson in that for all of us.

Age doesn’t eliminate opportunity, and uncertainty doesn’t necessarily mean we’re making the wrong decision.

Sometimes, it simply means we’re standing at the edge of something new. Going for it is definitely easier said than done. We have bills to pay, families to consider, responsibilities to honor, and very real consequences to our decisions.

But sometimes we spend so much time thinking about what could go wrong that we never give ourselves the opportunity to discover what could go right.

We only get one life. So, maybe the question isn’t always, “What if I fail?”  Maybe we should also ask

What if I succeed?

What if I never give myself the chance?

What if I never try?

What if I never find out what I’m capable of?

At the end of the day, we can prepare, think things through, pray, and surround ourselves with people who believe in us. But eventually, we have to make a decision and take that first step.

And when that moment comes, all we can do is dive in and keep swimming.

With love,