Risk

Risk

Risk can take you on a ride. Risk can motivate you. Risk can be scary. Risk can be fun. Risk can be overwhelming. Risk can try your faith. Risk can cause self doubt and worry. Risk can lead to success. Risk can lead to failure. Risk can make you happy. Risk can make you sad. Risk can cause contention. Risk can create love. Risk can change your lifestyle for the better. Risk can change your lifestyle for the worse.Risk is a component in every individual's life whether they realize it or not. Its the risk to change; its the risk to take a job you may not feel comfortable or confident in taking; its the risk of losing money, and or the comfort of health benefits; its the risk of not finding a job; its the risk of going back to school; its the risk of changing bad habits into good habits; It's the risk that we all take in our pursuit to grow as a human beings.The investment in ourselves enables us to become risk takers. For instance, If we’ve invested the necessary time and effort towards the improvement of our strength and fitness levels, it wouldn't be that big of a risk to strap on a 60lb pack and go on a five day back packing trip into the middle of Yellowstone, where we would be required to hike, lift, haul, and even survive; which of course we would also need the proper gear, and a common understanding concerning that gear, and also of the environment thereof. We would need to have invested time and energy on how to put up a tent properly. We would need to know how to build a fire, and how to use a water filtration unit. We would have to be aware of grizzly bears, and prepared to deal with them; and how to prevent an encounter from occurring; and how to protect ourselves if an encounter should occur.The point being is that you would need to be prepared for the back country, and all of the risks involved.  If you’re prepared to the best of your ability, then that risk becomes a confident risk - and even a small risk at that, since you’ve properly prepared by investing time and effort into gaining a sound understanding as of to what a trip like that entails, therefore you are prepared for the unknown, and are confident in your ability to handle all that you may be presented with.  Wouldn’t you say that you could relate the back pack scenario to all the risks associated with our daily life? I believe so; it all boils down to preparing, and then not being afraid to take a risk. It’s similar to an athlete who is preparing all off season for the season. If the athlete has trained, and done everything to the best of his or her ability to insure success going into the season, then why wouldn’t they be confident in taking risks during their games? It’s the same thing concerning addiction: If we who struggle with addiction work tireless to change - and we do in fact change, then why not be willing to take the next step in improving ourselves further? Why not go back to school and earn a degree? Why not look for a job that you may even feel under qualified to take on? Why not join a church organization, even though the thought of an atmosphere such as church scares you? Why not move into a positive direction? - and if that means moving outside of your sphere of comfort, then why not do it?It all boils down to the “whys” and “how’s.”- Why can’t I do this? Why is this happening to me? Why do I struggle so badly? Or: How am I going to change? How am I going to stop? How am I going to be a better person? – And the list goes on and on.  People on the daily talk about making serious changes in their lives, however - for most it only stays at talk. The reason for this, I believe, is because of the risk associated with this change. Let’s face it; people get comfortable in their ways, even if their ways are bad ways; or even if peoples ways are good ways, they still don’t like the idea of change. It’s like the individual who has been working a comfortable job for a long period of time; the thought of doing something else scares them to the point where they almost become stagnant. Maybe this individual has even outgrown this particular job, and is now overqualified - but is too scared to try anything else for fear of failure. Maybe this person has improved themselves through the years of experience at this job, but for whatever reason they’ve now become comfortable and even complacent. From time to time the thought crosses their mind to take a risk; a risk that would include increased responsibility and progress, however, they are too scared to do something about it – so nothing ever happens. People don’t like to switch up their routine for fear of change and un-comfortableness.Or it’s like the “idea guy”, who constantly talks about ideas on how he can become wealthy through his so called entrepreneurial mind set; however, this idea guy only remains an idea guy because his ideas just remain ideas; he talks the big talk, but fails to walk the big walk. This holds true for so many.These concepts are all interrelated and they start with the thought of doing something, changing something, or becoming something. What I’m proposing is this: don’t be afraid to take a well thought out risk. Don’t be afraid of action, and or change. The path of clarity can lead us to incredible places if we allow it to; we just need to be ready and willing to take that risk by following through with the impressions that flow into our minds. Just like the importance of being prepared to enter the back country of Yellowstone is - we too, have to be prepared for the unknown obstacles of life. We have to be diligent investors in ourselves, where we seek a constant new level of intelligence. We have to come to an understanding of where we are weak, where we need to improve, and what steps we need to take in becoming a well rounded, balanced individual; and then once we’ve prepared to the best of our ability, we then have to take that risk confidently, then putting our faith in the Invisible Hand of Help.-HawkClick Here to go to the Weekend Experience