Six Risks Worth Taking

A post on our latest Mind Waves theme of risk.

Life is a series of calculated risks. No matter what we do from getting up in the morning to laying down at night, every decision we make has a risk attached. Some of these risks are smaller than others, and I guess the number and size of the risks we take varies from person to person.

I’ve always been rather risk adverse. My parents weren’t risky people, and as a youngster I generally viewed risk as being a dangerous thing. I think this instilled in me a fear of failure, which I often wrestle with. But as I got older I learned through experience that risk is necessary – things happen when you take risks.

I think many of life’s most valuable lessons are in the failures. The bigger the fall the more important the lesson. Sometimes if you want to achieve really incredible things you need to put past experiences behind you and take a leap of faith. If you fail you fail, life isn’t going to fall apart and as a person you’ll always come out of the experience richer. If the risk pays off, then again you’ve come out on top. Risks can be a win win situation.

Here are six risks that I feel are always worth taking.

1. Risk being yourself.
2. Risk smiling at strangers.
3. Risk failing.
4. Risk admitting you don’t know.
5. Risk being vulnerable.
6. Risk that person not saying “I love you” back.

I’d love to hear in the comments what risks you would add to that list.