Growing up, whenever I spoke to my dad about trying something new, he would nod and say “Do it.” As long as it was legal and safe, no matter what I was about to try he would say yes.

Baba I want to try tennis - Do it

Baba I want to learn to play guitar - Do it

Baba I want to try skydiving - Let’s hold off on that (Spoiler alert: I did it anyway)

As I got older, he pushed me to make my own decisions. He taught me to use this framework I try to live by.

Ask yourself “What’s the downside?” - If the answer is nothing significant, do it. You’d be surprised at how often the answer is nothing significant.

Example:

I want to learn to play a musical instrument.

“Do it. What’s the downside?”

I will suck at it. Okay, and that matters because? crickets On the upside, you could find an activity that you enjoy and form a new hobby!

Another example:

I want to reconnect with an old friend, but we haven’t spoken in ages.

“Do it. What’s the downside?”

They won’t want to hear from me. Okay, you won’t know till you send the text. If they don’t respond you move on. On the upside, they are delighted to hear from you and you see an old buddy!

I saw my father live this mantra, and I try to live the same way. At age 64 he decided to kick off a video series on LinkedIn called “Just Two Minutes” He would talk about a particular topic and share his experiences from a successful corporate career in 2 minutes.

If you have tried to make video content before, you know how hard it is. He went ahead and did it anyway, because he asked himself “What’s the downside?” No one will watch it. That’s fine, who cares.

Asking yourself “What’s the downside?” will help you live a life where you can reduce the things you regret.

It’s been 4 years since he passed away and I miss him terribly, but I take solace in the fact that he lived a life without regrets.

Life is unpredictable. So today, ask yourself “What’s the downside?” and just go for it!

PS: Here’s the ‘just two minutes’ LinkedIn Post if you wanna check it out.

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