Why Bother?

Okay so it’s time for a more in depth blog today and it’s about two questions I have asked myself often since starting this cause. I know other people ask themselves the same questions when they are taking a leap of faith into the unknown and trying something new. In the spirit of helping each other, let’s have a think about…

Why bother?

and

Who am I to make a difference?

As humans we are conditioned at one point or another by society and experiences to be fearful, hold ourselves back and believe that we can’t make a difference. The ongoing story in our mind tells us that we are too small to be able to make a difference in this world and we should just stick to what we know, make some money and play it safe for the rest of our lives. We are conditioned to follow the herd, do as we are told, not question what is going on around us and just behave.

“Be small and inconsequential little human or you will get into trouble, make mistakes and feel the shame of failure and loss.”

Those thoughts and countless other ones hold us all back at times from pursuing a life with real meaning, from stepping outside of the bounds of what is expected of us and instead doing what we believe to be important, right and fulfilling to us on a personal level.

I spent years living my life to the beat of other peoples’ drums and didn’t question it at all. I knew I wasn’t happy, knew I felt a lack of belonging anywhere (even within myself) and yet I didn’t have the sight to step back and ask myself why I wasn’t exploring different ways of living and finding out who I am. It took a collection of fairly major setbacks over the course of four years that left me broken to finally say to myself

Right, that’s it! I have had enough of this, it’s time to kick my fears in the backside and live a life I truly believe in.

Let’s do this!

How selfish and indulgent of me, I said, but I did it anyway and it has been the most incredible journey. But yes there are still days when I question why I bother and who I am to make a difference in the first place.

I am just one small human (quite literally what with being only 5ft 4in tall), with passion and a voice and that’s about it.  I don’t have superhero pants with a shark design on them, oh how I wish I did, or a set of talents that are mind blowingly incredible. I am just me. So, with that in mind, why bother?

Because we have to. In my mind it is as simple as that. We bother because it is our moral and ethical responsibility to stop thinking about making as much money as we can and only caring about our immediate environment. Instead we have to start looking around and focusing on this incredible planet we inhabit. Have you seen how beautiful she is? Have you noticed that the planet kindly provides you with the clean air, water, food and astounding beauty that you enjoy and need every day? You’re not going to get very far without those things and yet we all take them for granted on a daily basis and do very little to minimise our destruction of the planet. We are too busy worrying about our own dramas (I get that, I worry almost daily) and do not see the wood for the trees. We are blind to what is going on around us at times (been there, done that) and we have a duty to each wake up and recognise we are a part of the planet and not the owners of it. As intelligent, compassionate creatures we need to all start taking actions small and large towards protecting what is left of Mother Nature and repairing the damage we have done before it is simply too late. That is one good reason to bother, to care.

Don’t for a moment think I am not terrified of having given up my paid work to create Friends for Sharks. It keeps me awake at night when I wonder how financially we will pull this off but we will do it anyway. I will lick the streets for nourishment if I have to because the opposite of not bothering to try and make a difference is soul destroying.

To give up may as well be to stop living.

I often wonder who I am to make a difference anyway. It is all very well caring and bothering but what difference can a single voice make?

Quite a lot actually if you try and put yourself out there, step outside of your comfort zone and speak up. The world is full of incredible people that single handedly have made a huge difference to others’ lives. They didn’t wake up with their plans and success neatly wrapped up with a bow but they did at least give it a go. They put one foot in front of the other and tried to make a difference, often with more positive impact than they could have possibly imagined would occur. I remind myself of that when I falter to put myself out there for this cause.

I have no idea what the next year will bring and whether it will be what others define as a success or failure, but it won’t matter because we bothered and at least we attempted to make a difference. At least we attempted to inspire others to do the same and we will keep on doing those things every day.

With all of the above in mind, I realised today that most of you don’t know who we, as individuals, actually are. That there are actual REAL people behind the Facebook posts, the pictures of gorgeous sharks and Tweets we work on daily.

For a bit of fun I am inviting you to ask a question you would like answered about us. We are going to run a Q&A campaign in the hope that someone out there will read the questions and responses and be inspired to make a change to their lives for the better.

To ask us a question, please write it in the comment box below this blog post or within the equivalent Facebook post. I will collate them all and then get to answering them in a future blog post. You can ask Nicholas and I joint or individual questions and don’t hold back…we will answer honestly! You have until the 19^th October to do this.

Why bother?…..because your questions and our answers might just help someone out there who is struggling to follow their dreams. It might inspire them to stand up, speak up and make a difference of their own. It might just brighten their day. That is reason enough.

And if you are interested in learning a little bit more about the madness that was my life before I took a leap of faith to follow the sharks, check out the first two chapters of my soon to be released book by clicking on my Welcome picture below. It was bonkers and a story I hope will inspire others one chapter at a time.