Shoot Your Shot (Because Playing It Safe Is Boring)

Here’s the thing I’ve learned this year: nothing good happens when you sit in the corner waiting for life to knock politely on your door. Sometimes you just have to be a little bold, a little brave, a little “okay whatever let’s just go for it” and shoot your shot. Life rewards people who try. And honestly, playing it safe is overrated.

This past year was basically one giant shot. I left a marriage, quit a stable job, packed up my entire life, bought a plane ticket I couldn’t quite justify, and landed in a country where I didn’t know a single person. I didn’t have a five year plan. I barely had a five minute plan. I just knew I wanted a life that felt more like me, and the only way to get it was to take the risk and trust myself enough to jump.

And somewhere between the airports and the heartbreak and the new cities and the endless “what am I even doing” moments, I realized that shooting your shot is how every good thing in my life has started. Traveling alone. Saying yes to new places. Trying things I never would have done before. Building Sol Flow Virtual Assistant quietly from coffee shops and co working spaces in whatever country I happened to be in. Sending messages to potential clients even when my stomach did gymnastics. Choosing to believe that my dream career wasn’t unrealistic, it was just waiting for me to actually go after it.

Then there was the love part. Because obviously I had to shoot my shot there too. Picture this. I’m at the gym in Parede, Portugal, minding my business, when I notice a very attractive personal trainer who looks like he could break me in half but also maybe read poetry. Did I need recommendations for places to go out at night? Absolutely not. Was it the easiest excuse to talk to him? Yes. Yes it was.

I asked. He smiled. We talked. We went out the next night. One night turned into every day. Then he visited me in Madrid. Then I planned a whole trip to Porto so we could spend one more week together before I flew to Malaysia. And now we are dating (and in love). The man can dance, he is kind, he cares for me in ways I didn’t even know I needed, he makes me feel safe and seen, and he treats my heart gently. All because I asked one tiny question that I could have easily talked myself out of.

The truth is, we miss out on so many beautiful things because we’re scared to try. Scared to ask. Scared to go for it. Scared to look stupid or be rejected or fail. But everything that has changed my life this year came from refusing to let fear be the deciding factor. My new career. My travels. My confidence. My relationship. My business. All of it.

So here’s my reminder to you. Ask for the thing you want. Talk to the person. Send the email. Apply for the job. Start the business. Try the hobby. Take the trip. Tell someone you like them. Book the flight. Open the door you keep pretending you don’t see. Life is short and generous and weird and wild. Let it surprise you.

And if you’re a business owner, this is your reminder that shooting your shot doesn’t just apply to love or life changing decisions. It looks like launching the offer you’ve been sitting on, raising your rates because you know you’re worth it, pitching yourself to a dream client even if you’re nervous, posting the content that feels a little too honest, investing in tools or systems that will actually make things easier, saying yes to opportunities that scare you in the best way, and letting yourself grow bigger than the version of you who started. 

And sometimes it means asking for help. Letting someone support you behind the scenes. Handing off the tasks that drain you so you can focus on the ones that move your business forward. Hiring a virtual assistant isn’t admitting you can’t do it all. It’s choosing to build a business that feels sustainable, supported, and actually enjoyable.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it. Shoot your shot. Your future self is already cheering you on.