The Bushy Path

Every day, we take on risks. Some of these risks are so common that we no more see them as risks. Whenever you drive to your workplace, there is always a risk – no matter how low – of an auto accident. But how many people think of this risk? Very few. There are some other risks we often fear. We think about those risks constantly. In fact, these thoughts lead to full blown worry. Many times, your fear is probably misplaced because some risks are actually exaggerated but affect a very small percentage of people. There are some risks however, that are more dangerous but that we place little attention to.

In My Sister’s Keeper , by Jodi Picoult, Anna Fitzgerald seeks medical emancipation from her parents. In a court scene, it became necessary for Anna to become a witness and be questioned in front of the judge. The last thing Anna wanted was to be a witness. In fact, she had asked her lawyer about it before the trial just to be sure she would have no involvement in that sense.

You have worked for long hours, you have shed blood and tears. And you have made your first big achievement. You are happy. In fact, you want to host a party to celebrate it. It is a good development. It is a development that anybody yearning for their first break wants desperately. But you must be careful about this new achievement. Because even though you are happy you made your first achievement, it is still the beginning of the journey. It is a little milestone compared to your big dreams.

After spending 20 years working at your job, you have a level of confidence that comes with solving many problems in your field and helping many people out. You believe you have seen it all. But wait a bit. What if that is just your perception rather than the reality. Experience is good in any job but if careless, it can lure you into a pit of overconfidence. And one way to be realistic is to admit that it is almost impossible for anybody to see it all no matter what they do. You may have even gotten a lot of praise from your co-workers or your employers but you must always be careful and vigilant. You must always know that experience in itself is not what solves problem.

How many times have you been told to set incredible goals? How many times have you been told to set daunting goals that you are currently unable to achieve? It is a good piece of advice but it is incomplete. To achieve your goals in practice, you have to adopt a better strategy. When we set goals, we must always know that our goals will face reality. Any goal that fails to consider the meeting point between it and reality may face its unachievable end. The most important reason to set any goal is to achieve it.

On a sunny day, on Thursday the 7th of September, 2017, John left his work with one aim: to quench the thirst that had made his throat desert dry. He walked up to the nearest restaurant he could find. When he sat down, a waitress came to meet him for what he would like to take. He was too tired to talk but he could see that bottle like a fully-grown woman with wide hips. He pointed at the bottle that had a red band at its middle.