A lot has transpired the last few weeks.  While training I jammed my neck and herniated a disk between my shoulder blades and pinching a nerve.  The pain and numbness in my hand and elbow brought my training to a screeching halt.  I became pretty frustrated at first, but over the last couple weeks I have started to think about “risk assessment” and “return on investments” and how I subconsciously apply them to my goals.

• “Return on Investments” or ROI is a business term usually targeted to invested money or capital.  I tend to use it quite regularly in life as well.  If you think about it, what is our greatest commodity?  What is the one thing we never have enough of?  I believe it to be time.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone never to be made up and many sacrifice it without thought.
• “Risk Assessment” is another business term I use a lot in life situations.  Risk Assessment forces forward thinking to learn exactly what the reward is, when it will be delivered and is it greater than the initial investment?  Basically it’s asking the question, “If I do this certain action, when can I expect to see results and will they be greater than what I put in?”

I have begun to evaluate my goal of a debut cage fight in MMA next July.  This injury triggered me to think about the risk and ROI.

• The risk: I am a husband and a father of 3 children and I am the sole financial provider.  My career as a commercial electrician is very physical.  What will happen if I become seriously injured and cannot work?  How will we live?
  • The Investment:
    • Spend many hours at the gym training, and possibly sacrifice my body with nagging injuries that are inherent with this type of sport.
    • Spending more time away from my family and missing my children grow up.
  • The ROI:
    • Adding a new reference to the belief that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Since I also believe that there are countless other ways to stretch my belief system, and the investment and the risk far exceed the return, then I think the wise choice for me is to bail on the goal and find another avenue to achieve the same results.  Plus, as a matter of fact I think I had a distorted view that somehow being a “fighter” would impress other people as well.  I am not here to impress others, as the ones who are truly my friends and family will always support me in anything I do.

One last thing to keep in mind is that logic must sometimes give way to heart.  Many have pursued dreams that defy all logic and make absolutely no sense at all.  These “feel” type goals that come straight from the heart are immeasurable in ROI and ignore even the greatest of risks.  These types of goals MUST be followed and completed because if not, the regrets they bring will haunt you for eternity.  With that said, my heart was never really invested in my goal of fighting anyway.