How to take risks
Life is a risky business
So what?
Taking risks is not just for at the pokies. Life is about taking risks. We take risks as an infant by trying and learning to walk. We take risks an adult with our relationships. We take risks in all aspects of life. Learning how to take risks, in a responsible way, has the following benefits:
- Opportunities that are unforeseen or unexpected present themselves;
- Learning and obtaining new skills and abilities;
- Breaking through limits that you impose on yourself;
- Becoming more self-confident; and
- Achieving your dreams through not playing it safe.
Risk assessment
The first step to learning how to take risks is the ability to perform a risk assessment. Risk assessments are undertaken in a number of different ways but simply put it is about identifying the positives and negatives and coming to a decision whether the risk that you are assessing is worth taking. Your assessment should include identifying the consequences of both taking and not taking a risk. Have a look at what could go wrong if you were to take the risk you are assessing. And be realistic about it. Depending on your risk appetite, we either overestimate what could go right whilst underestimating what could go wrong.
Speak to experienced acquaintances
Sound out your risk assessment and its results with acquaintances that you know as those that are responsible and calculative (not in a conniving way). A bonus is speaking to someone that knows how to take incremental risks. Converse with them about the risk you are taking what the positives and negatives that you identified. Ask them to challenge and validate your decision. Gather the necessary information you need to make an informed decision on whether to take the risk or not.
Overcome fear
Once you have completed your risk assessment and sounded out its results with others, you need to trust it and overcome your fear of acting on the result of your assessment. Fear comes in many shapes and forms. It could be due to lacking self-confidence, worrying about what others might think or fearing the lose of something you already have. Often times, the most beneficial way of overcoming fear is to face them head on. If the fear is too overwhelming, overcome it by taking incremental risks.
My experience
I was walking our dog with our 8-year-old daughter one afternoon. One of our neighbour’s Maltese, who often chases us down its driveway, started barking and running up to us. Fearing the dog, our daughter pulled my arm as she hid behind me which was what she has been doing for several months. This time, I firmly held her hand and jolted towards the Maltese. The Maltese, frightened by our reaction, hid its tail between its legs and ran back up the driveway. I used this opportunity to teach her that some fears are best to be dealt with by facing the fear head on.
What now?
- Are you contemplating taking a risk? Or have recently taken a risk?
- If the former, what will your thought process be before taking the risk? Will you consider taking the above steps to see how it pans out?
- If the latter, how did the risky decision go? What steps did you follow before making the risk? Would you do anything differently if you were to take the same risk again?