Should I risk everything to try to improve my life?

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I've been considering making a very risky decision. If it works out it could greatly improve my circumstances, if it doesn't I could lose everything. Should I take this leap of faith in hopes of improving my circumstances, or try to be happy with what I have and not take the risk? I feel pressured into taking this risk because my life isn't going the way that I want it to and I don't want to live my whole life on the verge of mental breakdown. I feel like this is something that I have to do or my life will never be anything more than what it is now. I guess my life is okay and there are many good things about it that I don't want to lose. I'm kind of torn apart about this.

How good are you at following through with things you start? If you have a history of dropping out of things, I'd decide carefully based on that.

You didn't give any real details to make an objective recommendation however provided you can live with the results and are willing to fully dedicate yourself... you'll probably regret not taking the chance.

15 years ago I took a leap of faith and applied for a job I had no experience in because others believed in me.
I was 100% honest and told them that I didn't know Perl, had never written software for the Internet, but if they hired me I'd know it on Monday. They hired me and I did. I spent the next 4 days immersing myself in those technologies and was ready to start on Monday. I've been in the industry ever since.

Don't know if that helps or not...

Let's just say that it'd be better if I kept the details of this risk to myself.

The only one that can really your question answer it is you.
Which would bother you more... not taking the chance or failing by not acting?
Are you prepared to take on this thing?
Can you prepare for it and try later (NOT in the distant future)?
Think about it objectively as if it were someone else's life.. what would you tell them to do?

As far as mental health goes I turned myself around completely from being a depressed person going nowhere in life to having success on almost all fronts by facing my fears and taking a growth/goal oriented approach to life. Once I accepted that every problem in my life is my own responsibility to solve regardless of who's fault it is and I started doing what I could do things turned around. That isn't to say I don't have problems.. I do.. but I'm a lot happier about my life.
Keep in mind that even if you fail - provided you aren't talking about doing something really stupid - you'll be in a better position in the long run because it's something to learn from. I've learned the most from the so called failures in my life... true failure is when you stop trying to better your life. Nothing makes depression grow and for life to stagnate like doing nothing but complain about it.

College and my job have been kind of stressful for me. The more stress I'm under, the better of an idea this seems like to me. I feel like I have to do something extreme in order to change my current circumstances. If I fail I'll most likely commit suicide because of the severity of the consequences. If I succeed it'll hopefully make things better for me. I don't think this is such a good idea, but it's always getting harder to resist the urge to do it. Money usually cheers me up when I'm having a bad day. If I was rich I wouldn't have as many problems. If I take this risk there's a chance that I'll be rich someday.

Last edited by Mike1 on 29 Mar 2012, 9:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Ok.. that makes it clearer..
NO. You shouldn't do this thing. Why? Because it's becoming more clear that you're just running from your problems.
Instead you should address the pressures you have with College and your job directly.
Drop a class and take it later, cut down your hours, learn skills and get a higher paying job, talk to that person at work that makes your life miserable... whatever it is face it.. but don't quit just because it's stressful - deal with it. It only gets WORSE otherwise.

You obviously have no experience with people committing suicide... It literally shatters the lives of people that love you; some never recover from it. You're right.. suicide is a bad idea.. It is THE MOST selfish and stupid idea you can have... AND it's just another way of running from your problems. It also traps you forever in your own misery if you think of it as a kind of escape.


"Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more."
"Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine."
-- Nikola Tesla

Stop running Mike and find someone that can help you face your problems.
Nikola Tesla was a bad ass.. he'd tell you the same.