How to Be Successful at Taking Risks

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Risks are important and you have to take risks to get ahead. It is scary and it is normal to be fearful about taking risks. However, when you are using the right strategy, you can rest assured that there is a higher chance that your risks will pay off. When you take the right risks, this increases your chances of a reward. All of this comes together to alleviate your fear enough to allow you to take chances and start improving everything from your career to your personal relationships.

It is Normal to Avoid Taking Risks

First and foremost, know that it is normal to not want to take risks. Most people do not like change because it throws them outside of their comfort zone. Accepting that it is normal to be scared is actually beneficial because it shows you that you are not alone in your feelings. However, do not allow yourself to get too comfortable with this thought because you will learn how to take risks and you will start to make positive changes by taking them.

A Risk is Whatever Scares You

When many people think about taking a risk, they think about extreme situations like quitting your job without having another lined up or skydiving. The truth is that a risk is anything that forces you outside of your comfort zone. If you never wear dresses, for example, you are taking a risk if you choose to wear a dress to work tomorrow morning. This is because wearing that dress is outside of what is comfortable to you. Think about this and write down a few small risks that you can start taking now to get yourself started and over your fears.

Start with a Small Risk

Going in tomorrow morning and telling your boss that you are giving your two week's notice without a plan is definitely not something you want to do, especially if you are new to risk taking. Start with something really small so that you can essentially get your feet wet. Wear red lipstick, shave your beard or skip the gym and run at the park instead. All of these are new to you, making them risks. Once you see and feel how liberating risk taking can be, it will help you to prepare for the larger risks that you need to take in life.

Reduce Your Imagination

Imagination is a great thing for the most part, but it can also cause you to be fearful of the unknown and the unknown can bring with it some really great things. When you are contemplating taking a risk, it is natural for your imagination to lead to you only thinking about the negative things that can happen. Instead, challenge your thinking, shut out your imagination and try to view the possible results of your risk in a positive light. For example, instead of seeing leaving your job as the fast track to unemployment, see it as a way to find a career that you truly love.

Add in Some Protective Measures

Risks are meant to be planned and calculated, especially the really big ones. Being spontaneous is great, but when you are making a major life decision, it is best to add a few protective measures to the mix to ensure that your risk truly pays off. For example, if the risk you are going to take involves finding a new job, keep your current job until you secure a new one. The protective measure in this scenario is keeping your old job just in case your dream job of the moment falls through. This keeps you employed until you are ready to take a risk on another job opportunity.

When you are planning to take a risk, keep your focus on that one risk. For example, if you need to take both career and relationship risks, choose one to work on at a time. When you are taking multiple risks, this becomes overwhelming and it can cause you to do the wrong things. The whole point of using risks to get ahead is knowing which risks to take, how to approach them and the right moment to take them. When you are putting your focus on one risk at a time, you will be able to properly plan all of this and give yourself a shot at major rewards.

- Rosemary Kitchen

Resources

Motivation for Dreamers. (2015). Risk Taking – Take a Risk. Retrieved on March 19, 2015 from http://www.motivation-for-dreamers.com/risk-taking.html