There are lots of ideas about risk and risk takers. It also seems this topic is one of particular subjectivity. What you consider risky, I might think of as a bit of a challenge at the most, and vice versa.
Nevertheless, I’m going to take a risk—step out on the proverbial limb, if you will—and suggest that one of the most important reasons why we need to ponder our openness to risk is the equally weighty presence of the emotion of fear. And secondly, a life lived apart from any risk-taking is a life that is without deep peace and joy, two emotions integral to our health and wholeness.
Given the vast range of perceptions about what is or is not a risk and how fear fits in, it helps to understand how we feel about these two potentially unnerving companions.
Risks come in variety of sizes and descriptions. Risks look different to each of us, and certainly at different points in our life. Ride a bike hands free? Go on a blind date? Try a new food? Forage for edible mushrooms in the forest? Your skin may shiver at the mere thought of any of these potential activities. On the other hand, in your willingness to set aside your fear you may quickly decide any momentary discomfort is worth the good that may result in making the choice to get out of your comfort zone.
Tolerance for risk has a lot to do with previous life experiences. When I was about twelve years old I went flying down a snow-covered road in front of our house, only to come to a skidding halt in front of one very annoyed large dog his young owner had lassoed to her sled. No surprise, the dog lunged for me, biting through my jeans to leave a permanent scar on my leg. While I managed to get over most of the original trauma, I still, to this day, am very cautious around dogs I don’t know.
On the other hand a couple years later I chose to write an essay about being a teenager, submitted it to a large publication, and promptly jumped up and down with unabated joy a few weeks later when I received a small check for my efforts. Risky? Maybe. At the same time, the positive outcome from that initial action has served me well over the years as I have sought publication with other work.
A risk does not always appear as such. No. No. And no. You will not find me in one those high-flying, twisting, turning, stomach-flipping amusement park rides—not in the wild days of my youth, or in these more sedate of present days. [If that’s your thing, please enjoy.]
For some people a risk may mean making a phone call you’ve been putting off, not sure of how you would be received. For others, a risk might come in the form of choosing to change jobs, or to retire. For still others, a risk might be to ask your significant other to sit down for a conversation on a topic both of you have been avoiding for some time.
Comparison is a trap that entangles and strangles. To research and compare before you buy a new car or replace an old appliance is a good thing—you want to learn as much as you can in order to best utilize your resources with a product you will use and enjoy.
On the other hand, to compare the kinds of risks you take with those I choose is to engage in unhealthy and unloving behaviors that are likely to lead to damaged relationships or worse. And who needs that, even if the person we are comparing ourselves to never actually hears us make those distinctions? Let us remember each of us is a unique being. Equally, let us respect that uniqueness and appreciate our differences, even as we enjoy our similarities.
To choose courage over fear, begin by stepping outside your comfort zone and take a small risk. That doesn’t mean you have to race to the nearest cliff and jump off, or climb aboard a precipitously high amusement park ride just to prove something to yourself.
What it does mean is that you accept there will be certain kinds of risks you will never take and that’s okay. However, with prayer, discernment, and a sense of God’s direction, you can begin to consider safe and healthy ways to increase your risk-tolerance. And in so doing, be blessed to discover you are capable of much more than you could have ever dreamed possible in your own strength.
What would be a risk for me? Why?
Has do I feel about getting out of my comfort zone?
Do I trust God to help me take healthy, life-giving risks?
