Life of Taking Risks - Essay Example

Life of Taking Risks Life presents situations when a person needs to make a decision of taking a risk. From all spheres of life, risks remain an integral part of life. Risk taking may involve changing careers, changing residential places, quitting a job, starting a business or even starting a new relationship. All these few scenarios just represent the unique ability that humans have which involves choice making. Therefore, it is imperative to understand what the term risk means. Many people associate risk with a negative connotation. They associate risk with discouraging, hurting, or underachieving outcomes. However, in the real sense, risk taking may provide an excellent opportunity of changing life. Many successful stories of businesspersons, for example, tell how a significant risk is, to the overall prosperity. Therefore, it is crucial to understand, benefits of taking a risk, when to take risk, how, or even the challenges of taking a risk, as this paper will try to illustrate. By nature, risk is scary and sends fear in many people. It exposes a person to uncertainties since it is difficult to tell what the results may be. On the other hand, equals a walk into unpredictable vastness where anything can happen, even the loss of life. There are many scenarios in life that involves risk taking. While others are explicit, some simple, daily life things are hard to notice. When a person laughs, that person risks the perception to be a fool. When a person exposes his or her feelings, there is the risk of exposing the true self. Loving a person, on the other hand, is a risk since it is not necessary to get love in return. Ultimately, living in this world is risking death. All these examples are primarily, meant to illustrate the sheer fact that life is full of risks to take. However, the question that should follow is, ‘Should risk be taken?’ Benefits of Risk Taking To get life of desire, it is imperative to take positive risks. It is also equally beneficial to plan on how to take those risks. Negative risks are typically impulsive and driven by emotions. Before making a positive risk, it is necessary to take time to weigh events of risk taking and its significance. The series of thoughtful events made before taking a risk act as a cushion from unnecessary and unforeseen repercussions. Firstly, risk taking gives an opportunity to explore the talents and abilities within a person. The process of identifying talent is not easy and it takes individual effort. It involves coming forward and showing those people around that have the talent. If, for example, there is a new artiste who has the talent of singing, it is necessary to the person gets bold and risk mockery or criticism. Going to the podium to entertain an audience may send chills down young person’s spines. However, managing stage fright is almost the first thing to success in singing. Without knowing the end reaction of the audience, it is bold to overcome risk of getting all the humiliation in the stage and sing. Then the audience can judge. If they love the voice, they will applaud the new artiste (Treasurer, 28). Secondly, risk acts as a lesson in setting up clear and achievable goals. Exposure to many challenges in life helps a person make the right decisions. This underscores the need to avoid operating in comfort zones set to us by influential people like parents. A child who sneaks to go and watch planes fly may end up being a pilot. The passion for flying airplanes may develop through leaving near an airport. The risk of going to school without never gives an assurance of employment. This is perhaps the greatest risks of the 21st century, especially with the increasing number of jobless people. School life begins with novice level yet it goes on to develop the student throughout the school-life, in virtually all areas. The act of choosing the right people to associate with while in school, getting involved in different activities builds character, associating with different people enables a student change the thoughts or general lifestyle. These are some of the influential ways to making the correct choice in life in terms of goals to pursue. The third positive significance of positive risk taking is that it makes a person become feel powerful and proactive. A person who is scared of taking risks, do few things in life. Such people fear the results of what they are doing. They may fear what others will think about them or in some cases, the failure. Taking risk is potentially a thrilling thing because it gives new experiences. Instead of waiting for others to take the challenge and probably make things happen, it is necessary to the risk as the first person. A businessperson may not know if the market will accept a new product. However, customers sometimes need new different things. If the market becomes available, in this example, the first provider of a service or good is likely to monopolize the market, setting up high prices and subsequently getting high profits. Therefore, risk taking can provide opportunities, which make us active and successful in the end. Fourthly, as a person takes risks, he or she creates an opportunity for change. Change never comes by repeating the same things. The challenge of changing the norms does not come on a rosy journey. If there are problems facing the students, for example, it is the responsibility of everyone to champion for change. In a school where there are reported cases of rape, students can risk punishment from the authority and protest. On the other hand, activists in developing and developed countries often risk harassment and imprisonment as they protest against vices facing them. For example, Turinawe Ingrid, a Ugandan activist risked going against the law in recent weeks leading to her harassment. These are the few risks, which people have to undergo for change to come, especially when the involved authority is dictatorial. Results of not Taking Risks Numerous results come from failure to take risk hence reinforcing the importance of taking risks. In case of conflict, failure to take the risk of undertaking resolution measures, maybe for fear of further crisis, may aggravate the problem. Secondly, there is likelihood to get depressed since most of the personal problems never get resolved. Without taking risks, opportunities in life are not grasped too, therefore, losing the chance to develop socially and financially. Research has also shown that people lose creativity, when they do not take risks. Students in a school who believe that teacher’s answers are always right fail to challenge the concepts of education (Treasurer, 38). Some other students fear to fail hence, tend to work at copy what they are told in class without thinking outside the box. Finally, failure to take risks in business reduces chances of optimizing work and production. In conclusion, risk taking is can be likened to ingredients added to flavor food. Risks do not necessarily have to be big, lifechanging risks. Instead, it is the constant challenge we give to the life we live, things we do to avoid boredom, enhance dynamism and add color to the world. A person who shuts down any kind of risk makes his or her a small, dull, flatter world. The young generation should be encouraged to take up risks in challenging what is already exist, thus leading to revolution, innovation, and subsequent betterment of life on earth. Work Cited Treasurer, Bill. Right Risk: 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life. San Fransisco, California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003 Read More