Daily Cascade

Risk Taking

Prompt: Taking risks
What is better, staying safe or taking a risk? Did you ever have to make such a choice and would you do it again?

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The way I see it, any risk is tied to uncertainty. While uncertainty may have its own hidden benefits, I am not any admirer of uncertainties. When you come down to it though, every step we take has a hidden risk although the possibility of it could be near zero. And another thing, this whole thinking of it signals to me that there is no such thing as staying safe.

Did I ever have to make such a choice and would I do it again? Certainly, I did. Even eating a cookie is taking a risk. How could I make sure that some part of the cookie would not escape into my throat and choke me, for example. Then, I did also took huge risks when I chose a line of study, married, had kids, moved to here and there, traveled as much as I did, and moved to Florida where we are threatened by hurricanes every year. Am I sorry for all that? Definitely, not. Plus, taking all these risks that I took in my life were well worth it.

Dangerous or not, at each step we take, we are taking risks, although we may not be aware of it at the moment. Yet, if the question is about taking risks with well-knowing the potential dangers, that is another thing. In which case, we need to take into consideration if taking a certain risk is advisable. This has to do with assessing a risk's potential benefits against its losses. Also, our level of preparedness is important; that is, keeping in mind if we have the skills and know-how to tackle any negative outcome.

Then, comes my favorite part: personal tolerance for uncertainty. Although some people can thrive in unpredictable situations, I feel anxious; however, those who know me may think I am soooo calm. I have a confession here: I'm not as calm or collected as anyone may think. Quite the contrary!

On the other hand, there is a very positive side to taking risks. It gives us growth and learning opportunities. Some risks, even those with negative outcomes, lead to personal and emotional development that lets us make future decisions with better effective thinking and more information.

Still, in my opinion, when the motivation for taking any risk is mostly impulsive rather than thought-through, it is wise to take a step back and hold the decision while we reassess.

So, right now, I'm crossing my fingers and saying, "May all our risk-taking produce very positive results!"