Why taking risks is so important for success

Why taking risks is so important for success

At least once in our lives, all of us must have gone through a phase where we had two decisions; to play it safe and settle for less, or to aim big, risk it all and take the leap of faith. The challenges that require us to make the choices can somehow be so frightening, that our uncertainties often do end up winning the battle in our minds. For years and years, people have been arguing about both perspectives. While one side tries to get the “logical” sense involved, the other believes that it’s easy to sit and do the same thing, play it safe and not take risks. To get a clearer understanding, let us try to understand what a risk is.

Simply put, risk-taking is the act of giving up your personal feelings, time, money and/or energy to help in the pursuit of the betterment of your circumstances or to take the opportunities that life throws you, being fully aware of its uncertain advantages and possible failures. It’s pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone by exposing yourself to your darkest fears in search of a life-long accomplishment. When I say life-long accomplishment, I mean the joy and serenity one feels after achieving success in a place where they had little hope. No matter how small or big the scale of your success, the happiness is bound to stay with you for a lifetime.

Significance of risk-taking to earn success:

Whether you take a risk to overcome stage fright, or plough your hard-earned money into the uncertain possibility of seeing your business grow, or simply allowing yourself to give that love relationship a chance, it is guaranteed that you will miss out on some of the most gratifying experiences in your life, if you choose not to take risks.

Self-belief in your potential:

It is human behavior to question your potential and capabilities when dealing with times of uncertainty. That goes hand in hand with taking risks, because it is a simple but hard truth that taking risks exposes you to embarrassment, criticism, rejection, potential failure etc. Even the best of the best people find their guts twisting with a twinge of doubt about the results and the fears of these disadvantages. ‘The what ifs can be concluded as human’s mortal enemy. But at the end of the day, only you have the power to calm your heart with another what if. That is, ‘What if the success isn’t the only thing worth taking a risk for’. Going through the process and even encountering failure gets you to confront even the most withstanding of fears. To be accepting of your failures and learn from them, you need to work hard on building an aura of self-belief and confidence in your abilities and judgment. Contrary to popular opinion, confidence is a learnable skill. I am not implying here that you should  try to change your personality from being shy to being exuberant and extremely social, but I instead implore you to trust yourself and the choices you make. This will be the secret gateway into fostering confidence from people and getting them to believe in you and rally around your ideas.

Coming to terms with failure to be successful:

One pointer to drill at the front of your mind is that in order to aim for success, you need to come to terms with failure. Even though, failure is viewed negatively by many, it is actually a very powerful tool to build resilience. It provides you with enough strength to run through your circumstances unharmed, while increasing your capability to recover quickly, when faced with difficulties and trials.

Calculated risk-taking paving the road to success:

A very crucial thing to note before taking a risk is carefully evaluating the risk. You must ensure that your risks are calculated and that your not engaging in open-risking. To understand the difference between calculated risk and open risk, consider this example. A calculating risk-taker will most likely not play a game of roulette, because the odds of their win depend entirely on sheer luck. Yet, they may opt to play Blackjack, since the game offers a chance to turn the odds in their favor if they approach it with a strategic play. Open risk-taking is simply blind luck without any effort, and is usually performed without the person measuring the pros and cons of his decision.

Risk-taking leaves you with no regrets:

Achieving something in your life requires stepping out of your comfort zone and giving people a chance to judge, probe and inspect you. If you don’t critically look at your hopes and goals from time to time, it’s easy to slide onto the conveyor belt of life and do the same thing day in and day out.  But that is not what we call living life in its true essence. Life is about challenges and risks, and the excitement of the new and the unknown. The New York Times best-selling author Nicola Yoon says, “The biggest risk in life is not taking one.” And if we come to think about it, deep and hard, we will realize just how true it is. By not allowing yourself to take risks, you wrap a blanket of comfort around you. It’s true indeed that this cocoon of warmth provides you shelter from uncertain circumstances for the time being, but no matter how strong a cocoon is, it breaks one day. And when it does, it leaves you exposed to the world with nothing but fears, vulnerabilities and regrets. If you do, however, take the risk, you have a chance to hold success and victory in your embrace. By taking risks you’re inevitably building layers of experience, wisdom and fortitude around you, that will serve you well in your winter days. Ten years from now, you might not remember your failures if you reach the height of success, but you will definitely regret not even giving yourself a chance to test your own potential.

So take a deep breath, close your eyes and plunge from the edge of the cliff. If your dreams and passions have enough dedication, you will fly and soar into the sky, tearing away at all the winds that try to restrict you.