Chances are you’ve dreamed up some exciting things over the years. Your dreams might have been to be an entrepreneur, a writer, a musician, to start up a charity, to look and feel great, to find a loving partner that you could start a family with or to pursue whatever that passion is that always got you excited. Chances are you probably achieved some of the things you wanted but maybe never even gave yourself a chance to take a real risk for the things you really wanted. You forgo that dream for something practical and safe. Or maybe you didn’t even consider that dream because you didn’t even think the risk was worth taking.
And then years go by and you start to wonder should you have actually taken the risk. Many of us make choices between the safe option and taking a risk for many things in life. You could secretly dream of a holiday of adventure, canyoning and multi-day trek hikes but decide to stay on a resort in a well known beach. Instead of pursuing a creative hobby, you might take a class in something technical to boost your career in a job that you actually dislike. Instead of finding a job that offers good pay and excellent work-life balance, you might choose to stay at the stressful job that you’ve been at for the last ten years because it’s much easier than submitting your resume, going for interviews and facing the unknown. And then there comes a time when you have to ask yourself, is it worth it? Should you take the easier path with little risk or take the uncharted path that has risk but could offer excitement, fulfillment and a greater reward than you could ever imagine?
Whatever risks you are considering, no matter if it is in the realm of social and romantic relationships, career and education, charity work or even just making your day-day life easier, these tips will help you on deciding for yourself if the risk is worth taking.
Nobody can decide what risks you should take, except you. You can ask your relatives, friends, partner and anybody who will listen what you should do, but nobody knows what you should do except you. And why is that? Because you probably have different values, priorities and interests from the people you are asking. For instance, if a loved one asked me if they should pursue a career in acting or instead get the safe job in accounting, I probably wouldn’t have much to say about it one way or the other. I know very little about acting and the types of sacrifice, commitment and time you would need to become an actor. I also don’t know how much this person would truly hate being an accountant or how much they truly would love being an actor. For all I know, this loved one could be an incredibly talented actor with the right resources and networking to actually have a shot. This loved one might also be an amazing accountant who would finding fulfillment in this job as well. How would I know? I can provide an opinion, but it is ultimately up to you to decide what works best for your life.
Is taking this risk even important to you? Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. It’s close to impossible for someone to be an expert at many areas in life. If you want to master something, you need to focus on that one thing and put the time into doing it well. You might want to own a successful business, learn three languages fluently, learn to dance the salsa like a pro, be a master chess player and win that hot dog eating competition but that’s going to be very, very difficult to accomplish. And that’s because we all have limited time. Only you can decide what is worth your time. For me personally, I might like to do a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition but my interest in BJJ is purely for fun, to learn self-defense and keep up my physical fitness. Taking a risk of competing in BJJ is not that worth it for me since this would involve large amounts of time and dedication. However, I’ve always loved writing. Taking the risk to work on a book everyday and commit to that endeavor is definitely worth it for me.
Lessen the risk. Is it possible for you to pursue the things you love but still have security? Could you study part-time to become a physical therapist but still keep your full-time job? Okay if that’s too difficult, could you instead study part-time or full-time but decide to work part-time instead? Is that enough to pay the bills but still focus on studying and moving your career in another direction? Let’s take another example where you want to take a risk and find a romantic partner. There are so many websites and apps for finding a loved one. Could you sign up for one and devote a small portion of your day to messaging people and browsing profiles? If online dating isn’t for you, could you try an alternative like speed dating instead and invite another single friend to make it more of a fun outing? If you want to start a business or freelance, is it possible for you to lessen the risk by first saving enough money to cover you if you don’t work for 6-12 months? Could you even make this process easier by forgoing expenses you don’t need which might include a gym membership, takeaway or the expensive cup of coffee you start the day with. Saving up this money could allow you to have the time to pursue this other career while not having to worry as much about finances. In other words, you can still take the risk but it’s less risky.
Is security even a thing? Let’s try to not allow ourselves to get wrapped up in the image of a sure thing. Something that seems secure and stable right now, might not be one day. As stable as a consistent paycheck from your job might be today, there is always a chance of redundancy or the company going out of business for reasons that are completely out of your control. Skills that are hot and needed right now may not always be necessary. The beauty in life comes in its unpredictability. Instead of fearing the risk, realize the importance of being adaptable and that sometimes the best things in life comes with risk. Even if you don’t decide to quit the stable job to start your own business, you can still set yourself up to have the skills to do so if you ever decided to. Staring a business requires skills in sales, marketing, accounting and so forth. You can at least work on studying those things so if you do decide to take that risk one day, you are in a stronger position to do so. And even if you decide to not pursue that risk, it will set you up well for that next career goal and keep you adaptable and marketable in this constantly changing world we live in. As secure as your decisions seem today, anything can change tomorrow. Keep this in mind and always be open to change.
Do you have a plan? If you decide to take the risky path, have a plan for what will happen if things don’t work to your time line. Will you forever pursue this passion until you have no money and are virtually homeless? Or is this something you can instead 100% commit to for the next year or two. And if it doesn’t work out, you can go back to seeing what other secure options you have? You also need a plan if you decide to choose the secure route too. Okay you decided that maybe your passion is better left as a hobby or a dream and have decided to pursue the stable and easier path instead. What’s your plan if things don’t work out as expected? What happens if you find yourself working long hours, feeling miserable, stressed and living an unfulfilled life? Do you continue down this path or reassess if maybe a bit of risk is worth taking? Whatever path you choose, have a plan for if things don’t work out as expected. Continually assess if the benefits outweigh the costs when choosing a secure path or a risky path.
Life is filled with decisions regarding risk and stability. As difficult as making a choice can be, it doesn’t have to be something we avoid or run away from due to fear of failure or making a mistake. You can still follow your heart, have faith in yourself and take a risk or decide that the easier path makes sense for you right now. Only you can decide for yourself. But be courageous in making those decisions.