It could have all gone so very, very wrong, when we decided to move some 5,000 miles away from our home to a city that seemed right for us based on internet research alone.
I mean, imagine it.
Our house in Victoria, on the market month after month after tedious month, might never have sold. And if our house hadn’t sold, we wouldn’t have been able to leave the city. And if we couldn’t have left the city, my work situation would have been a horrible mess… as, based on the assumption that it would sell, we had already hired someone to take over half of my job when I left the city.
But our house did sell.
Neither of us had ever even so much as visited Windsor. The first time we set foot in the city was after our house in Victoria had sold. When we finally got there, we might have hated it. We might have realized we’d made a terrible mistake. We might have found ourselves in an unhappy, miserable, complicated mess.
But we loved the city.
We had specific requirements, a limited budget, and only a few days in which to find new home in Windsor. With such restrictions, we might not have been able to find anything suitable. We might have found something we fell in love with, only to lose it to one of the other potential buyers bidding in a multiple offer situation. We might have had to start all over again from scratch, disheartened, with no time and dwindling money.
But we found, won, and bought our house of dreams.
We might have moved to Windsor and been lonely. We might have made efforts, but never made friends.
But we added a wealth of friendship to our lives.
Taking such a grand chance certainly isn’t for everyone, and doing what we did might not have worked… but we decided that taking a calculated risk was worth a shot. We researched our options, made a brave leap… and ended up lucky, fortunate, and blessed beyond belief.
It could have all gone so very, very wrong. But it ended up being so very, very right.
What risk, large or small, can you take to improve your life today?

Twitter: gottgreen
November 22, 2013
Hi Laurel….yes, isn’t it amazing how some of those risks we take turn out to be the VERY BEST thing that could have happened. Probably the greatest “risk” I ever took was moving all the way across the country with my then-boyfriend, (now husband) to open a night club after only knowing each other for two months. My parents were MORTIFIED but I just knew he was the right one for me! 36 years later we have an AMAZING relationship. Yes, sometimes risks can be awesome! ~Kathy
Kathy recently posted… Five Myths Of A Thankful Life
Twitter: alphabetsalad
November 22, 2013
That is fantastic, Kathy – I love that story! So happy it all worked out for you as well. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Taking an exercise inventory
Twitter: ElinWaldal
November 22, 2013
I love this. So many people talk about what they would “like/love” to do and then remain paralyzed by fear of change and don’t push forward with the calculated risk. Needless to say I am so glad it worked out too!
Elin Stebbins Waldal recently posted… Missing the Mark: Unraveling a Convoluted Blog Post
Twitter: alphabetsalad
November 22, 2013
Thank you so much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Taking an exercise inventory
Yes! This is the way to live. Thanks for a great piece and reminder.
Twitter: alphabetsalad
November 22, 2013
Thank you very much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Taking an exercise inventory
I packed up and moved to another state, alone, a few years ago. I did it for me. I also completed my graduate education, too. After that, I didn’t know what to do. I planned to leave and go back to my original state, I missed many people and hadn’t made many long-term friends in the new state. 2 weeks before I was to move, I met Hun and away we went! The story’s here.
Calculated risks is often what makes life fun!
Life Breath Present recently posted… Because I’m Helpful Like That
Twitter: alphabetsalad
November 23, 2013
I love that story – how wonderful! Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Taking an exercise inventory
Twitter: CorinneBlogs
November 23, 2013
So happy that it worked out well for you both. I’m quite a risk taker too – the biggest risk I took was with my marriage – and not a single day of regret. Why a risk, you ask? It’s a long story – suffice to say, we didn’t meet before we decided! 😛
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted… Dear Mr Knightley: Review and Giveaway
Twitter: alphabetsalad
November 23, 2013
Oooh, sounds like a very interesting story! And I’m so glad risk-taking worked out for you as well. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Taking an exercise inventory
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