Are you a risk taker? What ‘kind’ of a risk taker? Are you defiant? Because if defiance is the basis for your risking then you are headed for a world of hurt. Risk can be defined as: challenge. Or adventure. Webster defines the word as: peril, menace, danger, threat, trouble. Actually I would also define it as excitement. I believe it’s the possibility of threat or danger that entices us because it adds zest to our lives.
I read (Jacqueline Winspear’s blog) that we all live with our own level of risk. So how much of a risk taker are you? Personally I’m more of the calculated risk taker. ‘Most’ of the time I know what I will lose if I risk and use that as the basis to decide to risk or not. But I am a card carrying risk taker. Yes, there is a place for safety and security but there’s also a place for risk because the prize to be attained is worth it.
Risk is not risk for risk’s sake – that’s stupid and leads you into peril and menace. Risk needs to be viewed as alternative thinking. My definition of risk would include looking at what is and looking for a different way of responding. This is especially true when the old ways of reacting really don’t accomplish what you hope for. Risk should move you beyond the ordinary and perhaps introduce you to the extraordinary.
It would seem to me that a life without risk isn’t a life worth living. It’s important to be able to step outside of your comfort zone, do something you could be called crazy for, maybe even fall flat on your face… as long as you get up and try again. It is those times when you get caught up in (whatever), when you follow your instincts that molds you and defines you. You have to know that not all risks will turn out as you’d like and perhaps what you have to pay for your ‘folly’ is significant but you won’t end up wondering…. what if….
