There Are No Guarantees

“He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.” ~ Chinese Proverb

The guarantee.

It’s become a staple of modern life. So much so that we expect a money-back guarantee policy for just about everything we purchase.

And while this may work fine for broken products and canceled events, it doesn’t work so well when we try to apply it to other areas in life.

In fact, having such an outlook on life can paralyze us from ever trying something that may fail. We want guarantees of success and glory in everything. We want guarantees in our jobs, our marriages, and our parenting.

We want it in our houses of worship, our friendships, and our health.

This might not work

In a world that’s changing faster than the speed of light, this position is untenable. What worked yesterday might not work today. What was hot today might cease to exist tomorrow. What stood for the last hundred years could collapse in the blink of an eye.

You know this. You feel it in your bones. So how do you react? With fear understandably. You want assurances that the bridge called life won’t fall out from under you before you step on. Some days you take a step or two on the bridge, but quickly turn back once it starts to sway in the wind. All the while, you stand on the sidelines watching others go across.

Some make it across. Others fall off. Others still try to teach (or sell) you “hacks” to guarantee a safe trip across.

But there are a few people who will be honest with you as they take their first steps onto the bridge. They’ll say, to use the mantra of Seth Godin, “This might not work.”

The only guarantee there is

We all have in our possession a product called life. And unlike other products, there’s no such thing as a perfect life. There will always be defects and you’ll always have reasons to demand your money back.

The only guarantee I know of is this:

If you’re always hedging your bets, you’ll never fully be invested in what you’re doing.

And the less invested you are, the more likely you’ll fall.

So…

Be fully invested in your marriage.
Be fully invested in your job.
Be fully invested in your children.
Be fully invested in your friendships.
Be fully invested in your life.

Don’t wait for conditions to be perfect and don’t wait for others to go first. Have the courage to step out every day with a deep sense of faith, hope, and humility.

Your life may not be perfect but it’s a most precious gift. Don’t waste it by looking for guarantees.