Life is full of chances, ones which we take with both hands and hold on for dear life, others are second chances where we feel wronged or something of the like and feel that maybe they should have the chance to redeem themselves.  Second chances usually have terms attached to them; obligations and pressure are placed on them to not mess up again and the one giving the chance will always have the upper hand.  Is this a good thing? Is that person who's receiving that second chance doomed to fail again due to the stakes being higher?  I begin to wonder; what really is the point of giving a second chance to someone when they're only setting themselves up to fail and realise that there are no more chances?

Life has been pretty good in some aspects over the past month with a few changes occurring and a lot of growing.  Telstra has given taken a chance on me by promoting me into the role of Account Executive, managing a nice portfolio of clients throughout the area for more money and perks.  This was the last chance I gave myself in terms of a career with Telstra as my last position had turned sour.  I have been in this new role for 2.5 weeks and I love it.  I enjoy going to work again and I am meeting some good people in the process.  I miss my friends from Billing but all in all I am glad I took the chance and jumped ship!

My passion for tennis has continued to grow over the past 4 months, with a great coach taking a chance on my abilities and is training me up to be the best player that I can be.  I am giving myself a second chance at seeing how far I can go with it and I am sticking to my guns.  I have done a lot of living in my relatively short life and I took a lot for granted; skills, hopes, dreams and even relationships.  I am glad that in life we are able to give ourselves infinite chances no matter how much we screw up.  We are in control of our lives and it's amazing what a bit of clear thinking and a great support network can help you achieve.

There are also times where we don't want another chance.  When a situation was too messy or really bad for us we a lot of the times don’t want a chance to make the same mistakes over again.  Socially I have come to realise that even though I have left the scene and do at times miss being on it, I don't want the chance to be put into situations where previously the decisions I made ended up tarnishing a good part of my life.  Don't get me wrong there are a lot of great memories and relationships built, but there are those hard times and poor choices that were made which puts a dark cloud above the whole period

When it comes to love second chances are prevalent in quite a lot of relationships.  People break up, people cheat, people hurt those they love and quite a lot of the time we're willing to give them another chance to rectify their mistakes and have the opportunity to make it right the second time around.  That's what I did, I gave a chance.  I allowed myself to open up and feel again and now I am beginning to wonder; what was the point?  Was the point so that they could feel better about themselves and ease their conscience about how much pain they put me through?  I again put myself out there for them and even though they say actions speak louder than words, when all you have is words, what is there to compare it to?  Promises were made and I am beginning to wonder if these promises were ever going to be kept.  I am still sitting here, waiting and come to think of it that's all I have ever done.  Waited.  The question is though am I going to be able to take it further in the future and give that elusive third chance?  Only time will tell if I have the strength to know that there is more to life.

Chances are taken, left, ruined or lived up to.  How are we to know at the time which way the chips will fall in the end unless we give it?  It can be brought back to whether we feel that people can change and be all that we wanted them to be.  In the end the choice is yours; give a chance if you feel that what you're giving it for is able to be redeemed.  I urge you to never forget the reasons behind why a second chance is needed in the first place.  We forget that so easily and than are surprised when it all falls apart and we are left in the same position as before.  That same pain returns and you begin to feel as though not only have they set themselves up to fail, but you've set yourself up for disappointment.

Mik