Only a person who risks is free!

That’s the title of a poem I came across the other day and when I read it and though about it I was quite surprised at my thinking.  I have always thought of myself as a little bit risk averse, not just in business and economics but in most things in life I have stuck to the status quo rather than leap into the unknown.

However, reading this has put a whole new spin on things.  Everything in life we do is a risk, laughing may make you appear silly, crying may make you appear weak, loving is risking not being loved and living is risking dying!  So people who risk nothing, do nothing and have nothing.  By doing what we believe is protecting ourselves we are actually doing the opposite.  We experience nothing, neither sadness nor joy, we meet nobody neither new friends nor unwelcome influences and we have nothing neither things that weigh us down or things that bring us pleasure. 

So by avoiding risk we effectively avoid life, absolutely we avoid sorrow and sadness but we also avoid important experiences which will bring joy tenfold. 

Risk helps us learn, grow, develop, discover new ideas and inventions and open ourselves up to experiences.

There are many times when a preference for certainty over uncertainty is absolutely the right path to take, we are not talking about taking risks with health, family stability or security.  At times like these the certain outcome is probably the safest path to take rather than gambling with higher or equal expectations.

The outcome is that every action is a risk and we aren’t talking about massive life changing decisions but taking the bull by the horns on a daily basis, enjoying life, daring to laugh, daring to cry without fear of being judged or more importantly caring less of the judgement of others.

Image Credit Liam Hutchinson @liamhutch89