Risk Taking--The Art of Living

It is often said that taking risks is not what people regret in life but rather the risks that were never taken. So why should we take risks when can just play it safe? Taking risks challenges us to learn and grow, encourages us to fulfill our dreams, provides excitement and energy, and pushes us to reach our full potential. Without taking risks, we may never know what we can accomplish. In his book, The Other 90%, author Robert Cooper provides us with many pointers on how we can learn to take risks and the following are some of my favorites.

1. Listen to Your Own Drum

Too often we ignore what is really important to us by trying to “be liked” by others. Letting others tell us what to do, how to act, what we should want in life, etc., etc. will result in an unfulfilling and unrewarding life. Our society and the media are powerful influences that encourage us to be copies of each other yet we are individuals so listen to your own drum and follow it even if it’s risky.

2. Make Unreasonable Requests of Yourself

We are creatures of routine and too often we fall into a routine and then rarely seek to change or improve it. We need to wake up by finding ways to improve our routines, or change them in order to stretch and push ourselves to be our best and accomplish our greatest aspirations. We constantly need to be setting goals and adjusting our behaviors in order to be our best selves.

3. Say No to Gradualness

It is nearly impossible to make slow, gradual changes thus, if you know something needs to change, do it! Almost always it is less effective to try and ease into a change that needs to happen than to just make the change immediately. Either we change and take risks or we don’t. There is rarely an effective and helpful middle ground.

4. Close the Back Door

What this means is we need to eliminate or try to minimize an easy way out. Once we take a risk, stick with it and make it as painful as possible to go back to where you started. Closing the back door will make it easier to never look back or return to presumably safer ground.

5. Use the Rocking Chair Image

When we are concerned about taking a risk, we need to imagine we are 90 years old sitting in a rocking chair and reflecting on our life. Will we regret not taking this risk? When contemplating risk, imagine how you will feel about it when you are 90.

Time never stops thus we need to start living today by taking risks. By following our own drum, by making unreasonable request of ourselves, by saying no to gradualness, by closing back doors, and by using the rocking chair image we will be more ready and willing to risk. And risking will make our lives more meaningful and fulfilling and will allow us to reach our full potential. Good Luck!!