Take a risk! Will it work? What if I don’t succeed? Just when you wanted to take that step – – – then and there, the ‘Will it’ and ‘What if’ questions filled the room. But wait a minute…
Let’s try that again.
Take a risk! Maybe it will work! Maybe I will succeed! Seize the moment and make it count.
The phrase “take a risk” has a way of making people cringe and the dictionary definitions do not help the situation.
Here are two of such definitions: …a situation involving exposure to danger and …someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard.
Despite the danger signals and warnings, many people still step out to take the risk. Why? The simple reason is because life and everything that makes it work is a risk.
Taking risks doesn’t mean doing something silly or something that endangers your life or the lives of others.
So what does taking risks look like?
Scene 1: Crawling over the fear of rejection or stepping out of your shell after failing, not succeeding or achieving what you had expected or felt you deserved — and to try again: not once, twice, or thrice. Does that sound like taking a risk? Maybe not yet, let’s go on to scene 2.
Scene 2: Students failing to score high on tests or exams, not making the football team even after working so hard over the summer or year after year not getting the role that they want in a simple school play which can help them dream about getting a chance on Broadway and in the movie theaters.
You might be a parent or a staff in a company stuck in the middle of something similar to the description in scenes 1 & 2 and taking a deep breath and making that decision to take another step to achieve your goal is ‘taking a risk’. What are the odds that things might work out?
How, when or where can I take risks?
To better understand how, when or where to take risks in everyday life, examples and experiences are two best teachers. To help the discussion, let’s look at a list of 14 Risks Everyone Needs to Take In Live by Elite Daily. I will be adding my thoughts as we go along.
Feel free to agree, disagree or add to the conversation. It is also advisable to consider options, ask for advice and don’t be in haste if you don’t have to when considering whether to take or not to take risks.
1. Risk taking the road less traveled.
The roads less traveled haven’t yet been mapped out and, therefore, the only thing you really have to go on in hopes of reaching your destination is your intelligence, your logic, perseverance, and a bit of luck.
Me: The writer didn’t say that you had to be super smart like Einstein and people like him to reach your destination. In your free time, grab the memoirs, autobiographies or biographies about your favorite great men and women. As you read, pay attention to the roads they traveled to reach their destination. Many of them were pioneers in the things they did and achieved.
2. Risk getting turned down.
If you don’t ask then you won’t be answered. If you don’t ask then you’re basically still getting answered no, but you yourself are moving any chance of receiving a yes.
Me: You could be depriving yourself of a good relationship just because you’re too afraid to ask. You could also be depriving yourself from achieving your potential just because you choose not to ask your peer or teacher for help. Isn’t this similar to someone trying to write an essay about the Berlin wall but refusing to consult books or articles?
3. Risk not getting the job.
We won’t always be the best qualified. We won’t always be the smartest, brightest or best fit for the job. And there will also be times when we are best suited for the position and we still get turned down. That’s simply the way life is, but you still need to put yourself on the line and risk being turned down for your dream position. Experience isn’t always the determining factor. Risking not getting the job is the same as risking actually landing it.
Me: The plain and painful truth. You might be the best and still not get that job or get admitted into your dream school. So it is not the end of the world just yet. Hang in there.
4. Risk failing.
We too often allow our emotions to get in the way of logic. If you don’t risk failing, then you can’t succeed. Success requires risking failure – that is true 100 percent of the time.
Me: Refer back to So what does taking risks look like? (above)
5. Risk putting it all on the line.
If we do things right, there will be a time in our lives that we will have to decide whether or not we want to put it all on the line and roll the dice. My suggestion is to do so and to do so earlier on in life. Just be smart about it and make sure you know exactly what you are risking and exactly what you would be getting as a reward.
Me: As I said earlier “It is also advisable to consider options, ask for advice and don’t be in haste if you don’t have to.”
6. Risk missing out in order to achieve something greater.
We don’t want to miss out on parties, get-togethers, chill sessions, festivals, concerts, nights out on the town. We’re afraid that staying in and getting some rest will make us miss out on something huge – life changing. Think about this: You’ve been making sure that you haven’t missed out on anything for years, how many of those experiences actually made a positive change in your life?
Me: Number 6 is interesting. How many of us would have thought that staying in and getting some rest instead of going out to join the party was taking a risk.
7. Risk that person not saying “I love you too.”
No one wants to be the first one to say “I love you.” I get it – not hearing “I love you” back can suck. But imagine how great it will feel if that person does love you back.
He or she is most likely worrying about the same thing waiting for you to make a move. And if that person doesn’t love you back, then at least you know where things really stand and can disillusion yourself.
Me: Ooh! This is the touchy one and it’s where emotions go crazy. But you can control your emotions. There’s no need inviting worrisome troubles from the past or future and thereby getting all worked up and anxious.
Look at this: No one wants to be the first to ask, “Will you be my friend?” And yet many people are complaining of being lonely. While you’re waiting for someone to make that first move to ask you to be that friend whom they can run around the neighborhood or play football with — they are also waiting for you to make the move.
If you’re reading this and you want friends, take the risk and invite someone to lunch and see what happens. And please, please – don’t think everyone needs or wants friends. Think about you first. Then give them space to think about it and respond. Truth be told, maybe you caught them off guard. And also, it might not be their thing ‘going out for lunch.’ You can also invite someone to a sports activity or an event.
So, if someone says no – that doesn’t mean that you are the problem. And avoid nursing thoughts like ‘Maybe I didn’t stand up straight enough or next time I will slide towards the person instead of walking. Good luck with that move!
8. Risk making a mistake.
Mistakes need to be made if you want to succeed in life – it’s how we learn. If you’re not making mistakes then you’re not trying enough things. In other words, you’re not living enough. Risk making those mistakes because they are the things that make our lives interesting enough to read about.
Me: Talking about making a mistake. The other day a friend added me to a group which I found out after making a fool of myself. I didn’t think of checking the discussion thread because I saw her name as the person sending the message and so I responded as if I was talking to my friend directly. It was later when I saw an alert that another person was added to the group. On checking I discovered that I was in a group of over thirty people. Can you imagine how I felt? That went deep into my gut, but I apologized and moved on the best that I could.
9. Risk losing friendships.
Friendships can be great, but they can also be very restrictive. Following our dreams usually involves quite a bit of solitude. Friendships make it very difficult to take the time that you need to get the work done that needs to get done. In my opinion, true friends should support you and your dreams no matter what.
They should understand that you may have to distance yourself a bit more and then work together to keep the friendship alive – even if you don’t see each other half as much.
Me: Look at your friendship register. Are your friends restrictive or are you restricting them? It can be both ways. It’s not always the other person. It can be you.
10. Risk not being good enough.
There’s always a chance that you won’t be good enough. But again, isn’t that something that you’d like to know? The fact is that you’re either good enough or not good enough. Often, when we think we are good enough, we actually aren’t. [Ouch!]
This is important information to have because it informs you how much more work you need to put in before you can succeed. But you will never know if you’re good enough if you don’t risk not being good enough.
Me: Refer back to So what does taking risks look like? (above)
11. Risk launching too early.
We too often wait until we perfect our product – regardless of whether it’s a physical device or service or our very selves – before we put it on the market. The truth is that no one comes out with the perfect product or service the first time around. In fact, the perfect anything depends on the feedback that you receive from others.
Me: Essay writers, please submit the essay and ask your teacher to have a look or ask a peer. It’s good to write 99 drafts but there comes a time for another eye other than yours to see and critique.
12. Risk putting yourself out there and being judged.
We hate being judged regardless of the fact that we do it all the time and that we are being judged all the time. Everyone always judges – it’s what we humans do. Put yourself out there and be judged. Since you’re not selling yourself to everyone – most people won’t be a significant part of your life – most of their opinions don’t really matter anyway.
Me: Hmm! Nothing much to say here except – it’s time to step out. Let them see what you’ve got or don’t have.
13. Risk admitting that you don’t know.
Not knowing is not something to be embarrassed about. There is a very fine line between knowing and not knowing. For example, one second I will know absolutely nothing about a topic and then two minutes later, after someone explains something to me, I instantly know something new.
It’s crazy. And it only took a few minutes and not seconds. Knowledge is the easiest thing to accumulate, but only if you ask questions and risk admitting your lack of knowledge.
Me: Tell me more! One minute you don’t feel so smart and in the next you’re the go to person. What more could you ask for?
14. Risk opening up and being vulnerable.
When it comes to relationships, opening up and revealing your full, true self is necessary. It’s a requirement of love I’m afraid. If you don’t open yourself up and make yourself vulnerable then your partner will never see the real you and therefore will never be able to love you for the real you.
You have to risk it all to have it all. You have to risk giving yourself fully to the person whom you love if you want to experience the deepest level of love possible.
Me: The world spins and rotates around relationships. Make them or break them – we need them.
let's bring things together
Okay, no that you’ve read. Make something out of it and contribute to the discussion. Let’s give it up for Elite Daily. I was wondering how to put into words what I had on mind. Coming across their blog post brought my thinking to a halt.
I hope you have enjoyed reading and learning from this article as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Together we’ve learned more ways and areas to take everyday life risks so we can be happier and succeed more.
Until next time.
Take care.
Margaret from Alpha Springs Edu (ASE)