How To Take Risks
By: Brian Kim - January 13, 2007
When you were young, you didn’t even understand the notion of risk. You just did. You ate paint chips off the wall, you tasted the handful of dirt you scooped up in your garden, you stuck your fingers wherever you wanted to, but as time passed and you grew older, you were slowly introduced and taught the notion of risk by others around you and it was as if a square marking your boundaries was slowly painted around you. Soon enough, you stopped risking. You stayed confined within the box that was drawn around you by others and you accepted it.
This is where I’m comfortable.
This box determines my capabilities.
I can’t and I won’t step out of this box.
What happened? On the one hand, when you were young, you just did without thinking of the consequences. On the other hand, when you got older, you stopped doing because you started thinking of the consequences. Neither end of the spectrum is good so how can we reconcile? How can we get the best of both worlds?
First off, let’s tackle the part of “not doing”. Why do we hesitate to take risks? How can we get back that trait of boldness we had as a child?
It’s actually very simple. It just involves changing what we label risk as.
You’ve got to understand that risk is nothing but a label and the reason why risk yields so much power over us is precisely because of that. Labels are extremely powerful because we tend to pass judgment solely based on that. When something is labeled, we equate some sort of image to it. Armani – fancy suit. Ferrari – fast car. Nike – running shoes. In this case, what image does the label of risk conjure up? Imminent danger. We judge risk as imminent danger.
We need to change the label. Stop thinking of risk as just a one shot do or die situation. Instead, start thinking of risk as a journey of exploration. It’s not just about one shot. It’s about a journey, a journey you choose to embark on for the purpose of exploring a different path.
Columbus did not take a risk. He chose to go on a journey to explore the new world. Entrepreneurs don’t take risks. They choose to go on a journey to explore other means of making a living. Companies don’t take risks. They choose to explore doing things differently than the norm.
People mistakenly think that if they take a risk and it doesn’t turn out the way they expect it to, that it’s all over. The sky will fall, their world will come crashing down, and that they’ll never bounce back from it. It’s precisely because of that one shot do or die mentality that prevents people from taking risks. Step back and look at the forest. Don’t look at the trees. Risk is not just about looking at one tree. It’s about exploring an entire forest.
If you start labeling risk as a journey of exploration and discovery, it takes the weight off your shoulders and you become more inclined to take action.
Before, you had no label for risk as a child. Now you do and it’s stopping you from taking them. Change the label and start exploring.
Now that you’re older, you have the ability of thinking of the consequences of your actions. It’s a good thing because if you didn’t and you started thinking of risks as exploration and decided to jump off a plane with no parachute, you’d be in for one big surprise.
Again we run into the issue of labels. Consequences usually have a negative label associated with them. You will suffer the consequences of your actions. Do you know what the consequences of that will be? You’ve got to face the consequences of your actions. Such a heavy label isn’t it? Instead of consequences, think outcomes.
Go on a journey of exploration and focus on your desired outcome. Don’t focus on consequences.
Also, understand that each time you take a risk by thinking of it as a journey to explore, the box around you gets larger and this increase in latitude of exploration spills over to other areas of your life. If you find yourself exploring in work, you’ll find yourself exploring in your social life, your personal life, etc. As you keep on doing this, you realize the fact that there is no, or ever was, a box drawn around you and that it was all in your head the entire time.
What about those times when you risk it and it is just about ONE shot; like when you go for it on 4th down during the national championship game? Isn’t that a big risk? How can that be exploration you say?
When it comes down to those times, those aren’t really risks from the coach’s point of view. What the audience doesn’t see are all the times that the coaches ran risks during the pre season, going for it on 4th down in the middle of other games, the hundreds of times they went through this exact same scenario in practice, etc.
You see, the coaches took many risks BEFORE this moment to explore how to handle this type of situation if it were to ever come up in the future. Meanwhile, everyone at home is thinking this is a HUGE risk, a big gamble to go for it on fourth down, but the players and the coach know otherwise. It’s not a risk because they’ve explored this scenario many times before so they know what to do and how to deal with it when the situation actually came.
So must it be with you. When you begin to take little risks of exploration, you make yourself bold enough to take those big risks that appear to be like do or die situations from the outside, but you will smile on the inside because you know otherwise.
Change the labels. Go on a journey of exploration and focus on the desired outcome and the word risk will have power over you no more. When you do this on a consistent basis, you’ll find that a new label for risk emerges.
Freedom.
Please share and enjoy!: 
Email To A Friend Bookmark Site FREE VIP Newsletter
Read The Most Popular Articles Visit The MasterMind Forum
Similar Posts On BrianKim.net- How to Know When to Take a Shot
- How to Resist the Urge to Conform
- How to Deal With Unexpected Change In Your Life
- How to Develop Leverage In Your Life
- The Foundation Of All Self Improvement
- The Dangers of Falling Into The Trap of Complacency
- How to Harness the Power of Positive Thinking
- How to Stop Caring About What Other People Think About You
- How to Be Less Shy Around Other People
- How to Stop Worrying All the Time
Sign Up For The FREE VIP Self Improvement Newsletter To Get
The VERY Best Value From This Site!
Join Thousands of Subscribers From Over 107 Countries Around the World Who Are Actively Pursuing Their Hopes and Dreams!
What Subscribers Are Saying:
As a subscriber you'll get:
These M.I.Ts are purely meant to maybe provoke a thought, ask a question, make a suggestion and in the end, get you motivated and inspired to take action THAT DAY toward the direction of your dream because we all need a little boost of motivation and inspiration everyday, simply because the world is filled with such negativity and that fighting for your dreams is an uphill battle.
This VIP newsletter will contain more valuable information and resources like the articles found on this site.
And you don't have to worry about email blasting overload because I hate spam with the passion of a thousand suns put together. Your email address will not be shared with anyone else, GUARANTEED.
FREE Newsletter packed with valuable and exclusive information and resources on subjects such as success, health, wealth, relationships, time management, motivation, goal setting, and self improvement which won't be found anywhere else.
FREE eCourse - How to Maximize The Power of Your Mind - learn what you were never taught in school about how your mind works, how you can maximize its power, and how you can use it to achieve the goals you've set. The material in this eCourse can change your life.
FREE M.I.Ts - Motivational and Inspirational Thoughts sent Monday-Friday. These M.I.Ts will be personalized messages written by yours truly and will automatically be delivered to your inbox each weekday so you won't even have to think about it. It'll be right there when you wake up.
19 Responses to “How To Take Risks”
Leave a Reply
|
|
January 15th, 2007 at
Mr. Kim, Excellent article. I’m sure many who read this would agree. Take risks and don’t waste time.
January 15th, 2007 at
Mr. White,
Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it.
January 16th, 2007 at
[…] To get us started, Brian Kim explains how to counteract the tendency toward risk aversion as we age. Think of risk as a journey of exploration rather than a one-shot do or die deal. […]
January 16th, 2007 at
[…] Finally, if you need some motivation to try something new, Brian Kim’s article explains how an old dog can learn new risks. […]
January 19th, 2007 at
[…] The Cavalcade of Risk #17 hosted at Health Business Blog reminds us How To Take Risks, to find more freedom in living. […]
January 21st, 2007 at
[…] Brian Kim teaches us How To Take Risks, posted at BrianKim.net. […]
January 23rd, 2007 at
[…] Michelle presents Quit doubting yourself and tap into your assets already Charles H. Green presents I’m OK, You’re an Idiot Brian Kim presents How To Take Risks Mallory presents Baby Steps to Changing the World Neal Cohen presents Train Your Brain: Get a Head Coach David presents The 7 Traits of Highly Effective Teams Craig Harper presents The Science of Success. […]
January 24th, 2007 at
[…] Brian Kim shows us How To Take Risks. This is a highlight in part because of his intro, “When you were young, you didn’t even understand the notion of risk. You just did. You ate paint chips off the wall, you tasted the handful of dirt you scooped up in your garden, you stuck your fingers wherever you wanted to…” Um, and if we’re still doing those things? […]
February 15th, 2007 at
[…] How To Take Risks (1041) by Brian Kim is the kind of revelation everyone ought to experience about what risk truly means and how to cut past it. […]
February 19th, 2007 at
[…] Brian Kim presents How To Take Risks posted at Brian Kim. […]
February 20th, 2007 at
The information is this post is very valuable. Indeed, only after reading this article have I begun to realize the strength behind labels and how important it is to put the right labels around things. The whole idea of risk-taking changes when we view it from the perspective of exploration or discovery, and consequences seems to be such a heavy word - I really like changing it to outcome whenever I am thinking of it.
Thanks for the article.
February 21st, 2007 at
Hi Syd,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the kind words. I’m glad you were able to benefit from it!
It really is amazing what labels can do isn’t it?
August 23rd, 2007 at
Wonderful explanation of risk! My thoughts are changing already. It is amazing how the word consequences has become so negatively viewed in our society. A quick lookup on dictionary.com and the first definition is “Something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition.” And none of the other definitions were negative at all. So you’re right people have labeled consequences as bad, but in reality they’re amoral. They just are. So if you invest a million dollars in a mutual fund that has a track record of 12% annual return you must now “face the consequences” and get…12% return (these returns are not guaranteed) ha ha!
And it’s also funny how people will look at going to college and getting a job with a big corporation afterwards as safe and “guaranteed” and free of “risk” while an entrepreneur is considered very “risky”. When they fail to consider that there are no guarantees in life and it all involves “riskpleration”.
Thank you for your insights.
Mike
August 29th, 2007 at
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad your thoughts are changing already.
Judging from what you wrote, it looks like you’ve got the point I wanted to get across nailed right on the head.
Thanks again.
September 8th, 2007 at
What a great idea to change what we label as a risk, put this way it does not seem so risky.
August 24th, 2008 at
Exactly John. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts!
September 18th, 2008 at
Excellent article!
September 29th, 2008 at
Quite motivational…. i will try practicing it from this very moment
October 6th, 2008 at
Thanks for the kind words Kelvin and Nirman.
I hope you both greatly benefit from the article!