Psychology | Taking risks

Curious

We humans are more  curious than other animals and so we are more successful. We also take risks and we can often assess the risk to see if we are likely to come to harm or lose in some way. We risk injury, often so we can do quite unimportant things  like taking a day out.

Delusional

We can be delusional about risk. We race cars at dangerous speeds, believing we are good enough to avoid  accidents and even if it does happen we can cope with it. Some people even say it makes them feel more alive to risk everything. People not only race cars, they climb mountains and risk everything that is important to them.

Celebrations

When the racing driver risks his life and gets away with it and wins the race, it seems all worthwhile, a joyous moment to be celebrated. We celebrate with the risk takers; we watch the celebrations and cheer them on, encouraging them to take more risks.

Excitement

Risk is exciting, it’s thrilling, but it can also lead to downfall. Some people who have took the high risk route in life and lost, are afraid to take risks again and play it safe. Life then becomes boring, hardly worth living.

Getting away with it

How can we take risks and always get away with it? How can we make life risky, without ever losing? The answer is, we can’t. We can take considered and calculated risks. We can take measured risks rather than betting your shirt on the outcome. We don’t have to give up flying or driving because of the risks, we just have to be careful to minimize the risks. You need to take risks with money, but keep some back just in case it all goes wrong. We have to risk our reputation, but not by doing something disreputable, stupid or malicious.

Taking a chance

Life is about taking risks, it is about taking a chance on people. Playing it safe, not giving people a chance to  reject us is just too boring for our curious minds to cope with. What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments box. You can also follow me on Twitter. Today I have a guest post written by  Ramya Raju in a Zillion Ideas. If you’re into self improvement why not pop over there and read that too.

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