Stop Kicking the Field Goal

As a fan of the Detroit Lions, during football season there are few phrases I hear more often than "they're going for it!" It’s said with a mix of shock, amusement, maybe even a little exasperation. Just take the points, right? Play it safe. Conventional football wisdom tells us fourth down is time to bring out the kicker, but more often than not, the analytics favor the gamble. Even still, every time, the doubters circle. They call it reckless, foolish, a mistake. Then David Montgomery barrels forward, the first-down marker disappears behind him, and suddenly, the gamble isn’t so foolish after all. The critics go quiet, the crowd erupts, and the Lions remind everyone why they play the game their way.

Contrast that with the Steelers. A team that lives to uphold "The Standard"—doing just enough to make the playoffs, but never enough to actually win. A team so obsessed with not making mistakes that they refuse to take chances. And what happens? They punch their ticket to the postseason only to get trounced in the first round, over and over again, trapped in an endless cycle of mediocrity and thoughts of “it could be worse.” Safe, predictable, and of course, completely stagnant.

People will always doubt bold decisions. It’s easier to believe in caution than to trust in the audacity of risk. But playing it safe keeps you exactly where you are. Going for it, and I mean really going for it, can change everything. It can turn a season around, rewrite a narrative, break cycles of mediocrity. And it doesn’t just apply to football.

Life rewards those of us who push past our apprehension. You can tell yourself it’s not the right time, and that certainty will come if you just wait a little longer. I'm here to tell you that certainty is a myth, and waiting is a trap. The best things—growth, opportunity, adventure—only come when you ignore the heavy hand of hesitation on your shoulder and move forward anyway.

Going for it means walking up to the stranger who caught your eye instead of convincing yourself they’d never be interested. It means sending the text, making the first move, asking the question you’re scared to hear the answer to. It means boarding the plane, trying the thing you’re bad at, standing up and saying something even when your voice is shaking. Will it always work out? No. Will you sometimes feel stupid? Absolutely. But playing it safe guarantees only one thing—that you’ll stay exactly where you are.

So the next time you find yourself hesitating, picture the offense already on the field. The easy three points are right there. But the end zone is within reach.

Go for it.