The Hidden Cost of Staying “Safe”

by Odilia McLeod

𝗪𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲.

Safety and security have shaped many of my decisions. Some of that came from what I experienced when I was younger. I learned to think things through, avoid rash decisions, and minimize unnecessary risk.

So I planned…just about everything! Then I created contingency plans for those plans.

I was the Preparedness Queen. Maybe I missed my calling and should have worked for FEMA!

Kidding aside, that approach served me well. It helped me build a stable life, achieve meaningful goals, and make thoughtful decisions, yet it also limited me in ways I did not recognize at the time.

Safety can become more than a practical consideration. It can become the lens through which we evaluate every possibility. We research a little longer, wait for a better time, tell ourselves an idea is unrealistic. Only to dismiss what we want before giving ourselves permission to explore it.

I was willing to take emotional risks (oh boy, was I ever!), but when it came to money, career, or stepping into unfamiliar territory, I wanted the path mapped out first.

Eventually, I learned that no amount of planning can guarantee the outcome. Even carefully constructed plans can unravel overnight.

Change does not ask whether we feel prepared.

The harder truth was realizing that my efforts to avoid risk were not only protecting me from what could go wrong. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.

I have lived a full life. I have accomplished a great deal and taken calculated risks that, for the most part, paid off. However, I sometimes wonder what else I might have pursued if feeling safe had not carried so much weight in my decisions.

I know I did not dream big enough when I was younger, not because I lacked ambition, but because I unconsciously filtered my dreams through what seemed practical, achievable, and safe.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀. It reveals itself slowly, in the dream you keep postponing, the possibility you talk yourself out of, or the life that remains unexplored while you wait for greater certainty.

Safety deserves a seat at the table, but it should not make every decision for us.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢?

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