The Fear of Risk Is Keeping You From Excelling

We wake up every day and make thousands of decisions...some of which are common sense, like putting on your clothes or brushing your teeth. We don't think much about these decisions.

The more we can simplify our day, the better. By not focusing too much on the smaller decisions, we leave room in our heads for the tougher, more strategic moves that we have to make throughout our careers and personal lives.

These strategic, "life-defining" decisions always come with some level of risk. As an individual who wants to improve and make a better quality of life for yourself, you cannot go through life being afraid of risk.

Being a good risktaker separates you from those who see life from a more "realistic" lens and want to "play it safe". Now, being a good risktaker does not mean that you know exactly what risks to take so that you always have a good outcome. Quite the contrary.

Sometimes the fear of doing something that is considered risky actually causes us to overestimate the level of danger that we are in. But the level of danger that we imagine ourselves in and the level of danger we are ACTUALLY in, are two very different things.

If you develop the skill of taking risks, no matter how good you get, you are bound to mess up and take the wrong risk every now and then. And that is totally ok. Without messing up, we wouldn't learn or develop a skill set in our chosen careers.

There is something extremely valuable about messing up. You get to learn things that you would've never been exposed to if you hadn't messed up. This applies to things being difficult. If things are always easy, you will never learn how to navigate the more difficult parts of your career and you will never provide value for the organization you work with.

Now, here's the catch. In order to be a confident risk-taker, you must learn how to separate feelings from logic.

Feelings can keep us from doing the things we need to be doing.

Logic is what balances our feelings and makes us realize that no matter how we feel about something if it is the right decision, it must be done.

Examine and analyze how deeply aware you are of your feelings and your logic. You might find that you listen more to your feelings than your logic.

If that is the case, then practice giving more attention to the little voice of logic that we all have inside. Make the voice of logic just a little bit stronger each day that goes by and you will find yourself not only taking more risks but becoming more disciplined in what you should do versus what you "feel" like doing.

When you wake up tomorrow, think about one risk or scary decision that you have been putting off. Give yourself the task of doing something about it.

Don't let another day go by before you wake up and start realizing that nothing comes easy. To achieve, you must take risks. And to take risks, you must be brave.

Take the risk and see where it takes you…

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