There are times when we shouldn’t take risks. When we’re driving, working with dangerous equipment, or navigating a difficult rafting trip. Because risks can be so harmful, we’ve come to equate them with stupidity and poor choices. Some risks, however, aren’t inherently bad. Risks can play an important role in our development and our exploration of the world.
Risks are important, and in this article, we outline some of the reasons why. A few good risks could change your life for the better.
Unforeseen Opportunities
When we take risks, we move out into new playing fields. When you quit your job, before you’ve been hired at a new one, you take a risk. Sometimes that risk will burn you and leave you unemployed for an uncomfortable length of time. Other times the season of unemployment leaves you room to explore new opportunities. You may end up with a job you’d never considered before or working with a company you wouldn’t have dared to apply to if you take advantage of the unforeseen opportunities that risk provided.
A Display of Confidence
When you take risks, you come off as confident. Confidence positively affects all areas of your life, even your level of attractiveness to potential employers. You might not feel confident all of the time, but taking a few good risks, now and then, will help instill a sense of confidence in you. You can fake it until you make it with confidence, making the moves of a confident person. In the same way that a confident posture can inspire confidence, confident moves could create real confidence later on.
A Rush of Joy
Some risks are pure joy, and if you never take risks at all, you’ll miss out on experiencing some of those joys. A risk can be frightening, but it’s often accompanied by a sense of euphoria. Some people feel most alive when they’re taking risks. You might want to propose to your partner, without having discussed rings, plans, or anything ahead of time. While some couples wait until they’re sure, “Yes,” will follow, “Will you?” you could speak to a designer of custom engagement rings in Brisbane and plan it all as a risk. The, “Yes,” if you get it, will feel even better because of the chance you took.
Lessons Learned
While risks can produce excellent results, risks can also end in failure. While we try to avoid failure at all costs, making mistakes is part of being human, and too much success means a limited education. You’ll be a more well-rounded individual if sometimes your risks end in failure and you learn how to move on. While it’s best to play it safe where your body is concerned, sometimes small risks like skiing or parkour can result in an injury. If you do get injured, you’ll have learned your lesson, and there are always Morristown, NJ personal injury attorneys for that. (That’s if it’s not entirely your own fault, of course.)
Success
A lot of people avoid risks because of the chance of failure. Afraid of what failure might mean about them personally, they avoid taking any chances. In reality, most attempts will fail, but success lies somewhere along the line. Life is like a job application process. You’ll fail to get a lot of jobs, but when you succeed in getting one job, everything changes. Someone looking for new friends might avoid making the first move for fear of rejection, but everyone will experience some lukewarm responses or even nos when hunting for a new community. It’s the eventual, “Yes!” that will make all the difference.
Facing Fears
Many people avoid risks because they’re afraid. If you have a fear of the water, learning to surf Hawaii may leave you feeling terrified beforehand but exhilarated afterward. Taking risks allows you to face your fears, something you were encouraged to do as a kid but may have put on the back burner as an adult. Facing fears is a human need, however, and the rush of confronting a phobia is similar to the rush of success when your risk finally pays off.
Embracing Failure
While every risk is a gamble, we all hope our risks will end in success. What happens when they don’t, however? Doesn’t that destroy all positive benefit your risk might have provided? An embrace of failure, however, is part of a healthy mindset. The more we fail, the more easily we let it go next time. Once we concede that failure is natural, a part of the process (instead of a reflection of our ability) we become the confident person we were hoping to be.
Embracing the Unknown
A lot of us tend to prefer to keep all our ducks in a row. We like to know the outcome ahead of time; we like to have a solid plan. While control can be comforting, life seldom plays along. A healthy dose of the unknown is good for everyone, since it can remind us that nothing is certain. Even a relaxing gambling experience North Bend, OR could be a way to embrace the unknown. Part of the pleasure in gambling is that embrace of the “what if?” side of life.
Better Luck Next Time
“Better luck next time,” is what games and quizzes often say when you fail. It’s become synonymous with, “You lose,” but the phrase itself is an important part of risk-taking. You probably will have better luck next time. The first time you fail in a business venture, you have no idea what you’re doing. By the tenth mistake, you’ve gathered enough knowledge to make try number eleven a total success (hopefully).
Growth
When we take risks, we grow. Risks can end in failure, making us wiser, more relaxed, and less insecure in the long run. Risks can end in success, changing our lives for the better. The mere experience of taking a risk in the first place can help us grow braver: it’s a stretch of what we know, a gamble of resources, and a surrender of control. It’s healthy for everyone to experience a few good risks in their personal life.