''Nothing worthwhile was ever achieved without
an element of risk."
Who first said this, or where the quote comes from, I have
no idea. However, regardless of not knowing the origin of the quote,
in my view it has merit.
In order to discover anything new to us, at some point, we often have to
un-zip our established and comfortable mindsets.
(According to those in the know, consciously we can only
pay attention to one thought at the time, so the only way to
have a new thought is to let go of the old one.)
As a kid, I couldn't stomach celery. The taste of it made me feel
nauseous so I decided that I had to avoid celery for the rest
of my life. So I did, until...someone handed me a celery stick
covered in peanut butter. I love peanut butter, so I decided
to try it. I loved it, not only the peanut butter, but the combination
of the celery and peanut butter. I now love crispy celery on its
own, in salads, and smothered in peanut butter.
I had been given an opportunity to challenge my mindset
concerning celery. There was a risk that I was going to
feel nauseous, but there was also the possibility
that I was going to experience something worthwhile (and tasty).
Being able to quickly to do some form of ''risk assessment'', is
in my view a handy, and from a survival point of view,
a very useful attribute.
''If I do this (whatever this may be) what is the risk that
it may have ''bad/dire'' consequences?"
Once we have established what we view the consequences to be,
often we then decide whether we are willing to ''risk it'' or not.
But here is the thing as I see it; it can be easy to pay so much
attention to the ''risky bits'' that we forget to consider possible
opportunities that may be available to us as well.
Trying something new always carries with it the possibility/risk of
''failing, making a fool of ourselves, falling flat on our face, being
laughed at, seem stupid, etc.etc.''
This is true, this may happen, but it may not.
People we now call friends were once strangers,
skills we now have, were acquired on the back of ''mistakes'',
''exotic'' foods we now love (sushi, pizza, Asian food, Mexican, etc.etc)
we learnt to love by taking the risk of trying some.
Countries we now love to visit, we have learned to love by taking
the risk of leaving our home countries with all their comforts and
familiarities.
Opportunities, even when there may be some risk involved, become
visible to us when we ask: ''Yes, there is some risk involved, but what
if there are some amazing opportunities as well?
Taking a ''risk'' and taking a ''calculated risk'', may I suggest
are two different things.
If we do a ''risk assessment'' before we go ahead and do
something, in my view, that would constitute taking a calculated risk.
Running a red traffic light, that in my view is plain risky. (There are too
many variables at stop lights to be able to do a ''true'' risk assessment.
I guess perhaps one could say that the opposite of a ''calculated risk'',
is ''gambling''.)
Risk averse, though many of us may be and perhaps rightly so,
I still believe it may be useful for us to consider:
''Nothing worthwhile was ever achieved without
an element of risk.''
''The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity.
The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.''
(Winston Churchill)
''You can measure opportunity with the same
yardstick that measures the risk involved.
They go together.''
(Earl Nightingale)
''Life may be risky business,
but that doesn't mean we shouldn't live it.''
(Citizen Z)
about the painting: acrylic on canvas
The face peeking through the zip is Andy Warhol
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