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I’m not sure where I first heard the term, “Do it scared.” That’s an interesting idea, and one I’d like to unpack today.

Michael Hyatt said, “More often than not, being brave means doing it scared.” And Mary Schmich wrote, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

These are good thoughts.

I don’t have a lot to say that can replace these in their simplicity. What I have been thinking about, though, is what constitutes an “acceptable risk.”

At this writing, President Trump has been released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is back convalescing at the White House after being diagnosed with COVID-19. (And, by the way, just because I’ve mentioned the president this post is in no way intended to be political. C’mon. Don’t go there.)

“Don’t be afraid of COVID,” President Trump tweeted, on the same day that the White House outbreak spread further and another several hundred Americans died from virus complications.

According to the New York Times (and I did some fact-checking rather than depend on just one source – that’s a healthy discipline, I think), only cancer and heart disease will kill more Americans this year than Covid. Already, the virus has killed more than twice as many Americans as either strokes or Alzheimer’s disease, about four times as many as diabetes and more than eight times as many as either gun violence or vehicle accidents.

Does that scare you? Does that generate an urge in you to “do it scared,” whatever that means in your life?

I ran across the term “micromort.” Basically, it’s a measurement that equals a one-in-a-million chance of dying. For perspective:

• The risk of skydiving is 7 micromorts. Your chance of dying skydiving is 7 in a million. Those are really good odds. But the thought of skydiving makes my hands sweat, even though it is really, really safe.
• The risk of general anesthesia in the United States is 5 micromorts. I’ve been “put to sleep” many times and never gave it a thought.
• The risk of having a baby is 210 micromorts. It’s much safer to skydive than to give birth.
• If you contract the virus, the risk of dying from Covid in the United States is abound 1000 micromorts. A typical 40-year-old has around a one-in-a-thousand risk of not making it to their next birthday for any reason, and a British researcher determined Covid-19 poses an almost identical risk for someone’s who’s infected by the coronavirus. Please understand this is a VERY GENERAL estimate, not factoring in age, pre-existing conditions, and other factors. There isn’t a simple answer.
• The average American experiences one micromort daily, which for our purposes includes any death from unnatural causes – getting electrocuted, dying in a car wreck, or getting hit by an asteroid.

Here’s where I’ve landed, and it’s called (drum roll, please):

Tony’s Doctrine of Acceptable Risk

1. To do it scared is that you adopt the biblical admonition to “fear not.”
2. There is a difference in living in fear and being prudent.
3. It’s helpful, from a clinical standpoint, to simply play the odds. For instance, the numerical odds of you dying from COVID aren’t very good.
4. From a spiritual standpoint, you are leaning on the everlasting arms, safe and secure.
5. At some point, you simply have to do the wise thing, even if that means doing something another person might deem risky or stupid. For example, you might abandon a law practice and become a white water river guide, if you’re persuaded it will give you more satisfaction and be more in harmony with your call.
6. There is rational fear and irrational fear. Rational fear would be avoiding stepping out into oncoming traffic. Irrational fear would be staying indoors because you thought you’d be killed by ice falling from an airplane wing.
7. You do not control your final destiny. This is a good thing. It is best to trust in Someone Who knows every fiber of your being rather than totally depend on your own faulty reasoning. At the same time, you’ve been gifted with a modicum of sense and reason. Don’t abandon that.
8. Ultimately, when evaluating what is an “acceptable risk,” and what it means to “do it scared,” it is always appropriate to ask, “What would Jesus do?” Then do just that.

Do it scared? Well, yeah. It’s what will make you grow and thrive, accomplish goals, and leave the naysayers in the dust.

It’s ultimately understanding Who determines the outcome of your life.

Relax. And take action.

PHOTO CREDIT – President Trump removes his mask upon returning to the White House on Monday after undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Alex Brandon/AP

Tony’s Question: What is one thing you consider an acceptable risk that others might think is dumb? Share your response below. TIA!