Of course, many, if not most, people are fearful of risk. In fact, it’s been said that FEAR stands for “Forget Everything And Run,” which is a logical reaction given that, by definition, risk is “the possibility of suffering harm or loss,” and involves “uncertain danger.” But, amid the vast upside possibilities, I prefer to negate the negative connotations associated with risk and repudiate the debilitating aversion to “learning the hard way.” People actually learn best by feeling the result of their actions, whether that result is positive or negative. When, as children, we’re told to not touch something hot or we’ll get burned, we don’t really have a full appreciation of the danger until we actually touch it, which we inevitably did. The understanding and knowledge gained from that experience was far greater than simply taking your parent’s word for it and never feeling the burn. The message here isn’t to take action towards things that are inherently bad for you; but rather it’s that you’re most powerful knowledge base will come from taking risks.
If you’re ready to supercharge positive change in your life but doing so requires an element of risk, here are 4 pieces of wisdom to get you started:
1. Define and debunk your fears. Acting upon something with an unknown result can be an uneasy feeling, especially if something of value is at stake. But, what exactly are you afraid of? The amount of work involved for you? The potential financial loss if it doesn’t work out? The possibility of being perceived as a failure? Start by defining your fears with specificity, either in your mind or, better, by writing them down. During this process, be sure you conceive what you believe to be the “worst case scenario” and the probability of that coming to fruition. The worst case scenario rarely plays out, so you can rest easier on that front. Once all of your fears are itemized, for each and every one detail how you would move past it if it were to materialize. Determining the likelihood of each feared event and how each would be dealt with can give you an invigorating sense of reassurance.
2. Embrace fear. Many people are deterred from taking risks because of the fear of failure, disappointment and others’ perception of the failure. However, while failure is not something that anyone wants to experience, it statistically increases your chances of success. Did you know 9 out of 10 startup companies fail, and that the average millionaire goes bankrupt at least 3.5 times? So, statistically speaking, some would say that the more times you fail the higher chance you have of succeeding the next time. With fear, the key is to not only identify it, but actually take control and use it to drive you towards that which you covet from afar, stagnated by inaction.
And, most importantly, never make a decision based on fear. I actually assert that you should appreciate fear as, without it, your achievement or success wouldn’t be so rewarding if fear wasn’t there to serve as a barometer and provide perspective on what was attained. Moreover, how boring life would be without fear. The process of understanding your fears, taking calculated risks, and achieving the success or parlaying the failure into something positive is a far more rewarding journey than a life lived without any risk-taking, regardless of the outcome.