Reasonable Risk

[MissCris]

I was thinking just now about how much of life is made up of taking chances, whether it's emotional, physical, financial risks...everybody, at some point, in some way, risks something. It's part of life; being unsure of the exact outcome of a choice but making it anyway. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.

There are extremes to this, of course-

-some people take it too far, never play it "safe", as in maybe gambling (losing everything and then going back to do it again...and again...), or maybe giving their heart away too easily and too often, or being too much of a dare-devil and ending up seriously injured...or worse.

-but then there's people who never take chances with anything, prefer to keep their hearts closed so they don't risk getting hurt, or never take a chance at a new career and stay with a job they hate because it's safe, or miss out on life because they're afraid

So I just wondered, for you guys, what would you consider "reasonable risks"?
What's too risky for you?
What's worth taking a huge chance on?

I know everyone has different comfort zones, different ideas on what's risky and what's reasonable.

For me, I'm more likely to take emotional risks- I give a lot of myself and give a lot of second (third, fourth, fifth) chances. I've been burned a lot as a result...but, I also feel that it's often worth it. Sort of the cliche "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" type of thing. Because while I may have had some pretty gnarly things happen, I've also learned and grown a lot. It's made me a better, stronger Me.

I'm not so big on physical risks. While I'm not terrified of everything, I'm also pretty far from being a dare devil. To me, an adrenaline rush isn't good enough reason to do something that could potentially kill me. Or break my bones. Or give me a concussion. Yeah. It's bad enough, I think, that those things could happen at any time as it is- I don't see any reason to...tempt fate, so to speak. Like, I could manage to mangle myself just walking through my house; I don't need to ensure that I get mangled by bungee jumping or something.

I dunno, what about y'all?

 

[ChandlerFan]

I feel like I only take emotional risks after I've calculated them pretty carefully, although I do tend to be maybe too trusting at times? So I have been burned as a result of that, but it doesn't affect my desire to want to see the good in people too much going forward.

As far as physical risks go, I've not been one to take these hardly ever, and I think to some extent those risks are not worth it. I would really love to make my life count for something by bringing God glory however I can, and I just think I wouldn't want to end up needlessly dying because I took a physical risk for the thrill of it. That's not to say I don't love adventure, but there are just some things that I would probably avoid that might bring joy in the rush of the experience in favor of experiencing joy in other, less risky things.

 

[gypsygirl]

i would say that i've taken a lot of calculated risks, and then taken some less smart ones.

emotionally, i'm more conservative, but still very much a risk taker. i would say that i weigh and measure my "odds" and then go for what i think has sufficient reward to justify the risk.

i've always said, i'd rather bomb, and fail epically, than take baby steps for the rest of my life and be angry with myself for never "going for it".

work-wise, i've always taken risk, then i will bide my time, and catch up and prepare for the next risk. then i take a big risk, and the cycle repeats.

as to physical risks, i should preface this with saying that i've grown quite a bit in this area, but i'm definitely a risk taker.

i learned pretty early on that i got a huge charge out of having mastery over my physical being and doing things that seemed a little (or a lot) scary. i'm sort of afraid to list some examples because you'd all think i'm nuts, but i will give one example that happened when i was around 30.

i dated a guy who was a mountain climber and started taking me with his friends. one time in particular, i got impatient and scrambled partway up the side without any gear or harness, because i knew i could physically do it, and was trying to catch up with them (mostly i was impatient). i ended up losing my grip on one side, hung for about 1.5 seconds (and was able to quickly recover) but my heart was beating in my throat, and after i climbed up there, i was on cloud 10 for hours.

it was a very foolish choice, and while i would never do stuff like that again, taking risks (with safety measures in place) is one of life's joys for me.

to compare it, i went rock wall climbing with a friend a couple weeks ago, all rigged up with a giant cushioned floor underneath. it was as exciting as making oatmeal on a rainy day. yes, i got a workout, but being at the top of that thing doesn't have any thrill associated with it, even if you're 45' up in the air.

that's probably why i enjoy trying new things so much -- there's always fear in something new and challenging. the risk of failing, the excitement of being challenged, and the potential for something new, undiscovered, and maybe even amazing.

 

[Donkeyfish07]

Reasonable risk to me, is......I don't know how this situation is going to play out.....but even if it doesn't produce the outcome I wanted.....would I regret taking a shot at it? If I'm willing to take a shot at it regardless of how things may or may not turn out, it is 100% certainly worth the risk.

 

[Donkeyfish07]

Actually, after pondering my last post in this thread. The situation I described is more appropriately defined as "A situation where it is completely unreasonable to NOT take a risk". lol

 

[CatHerder]

I think in some areas, I'm way more cautious than I should be.

While other kids, especially boys, were daredevils, I wasn't as much. I think this is mostly because as a kid, I was dragged along every time my brother needed medical treatment due to his condition (he had hemophilia), which was two or three times a week. During all the trips to ER, hospital waiting rooms and pediatric wards, I saw a lot of sick kids with all sorts of horrible conditions. Anyway, what I accepted as "normal" gave me a different awareness of childhood mortality than most of my peers. I sometimes wonder if my not being a risk taker in my childhood made me miss out on an important part of my development.

 

[tourist]

It is always worth taking a chance of love. If you cannot afford to lose you cannot afford to win. I always play to win. That's how I play the game.

 

[secularhermit]

She said she has fears?



Here are ideas... Why What "He Said, She Said" Doesn't Matter | Cory Nikkel | Helping Grow Deep Faith Roots

 

[rachelsedge]

I feel like I only take emotional risks after I've calculated them pretty carefully, although I do tend to be maybe too trusting at times? So I have been burned as a result of that, but it doesn't affect my desire to want to see the good in people too much going forward.

As far as physical risks go, I've not been one to take these hardly ever, and I think to some extent those risks are not worth it. I would really love to make my life count for something by bringing God glory however I can, and I just think I wouldn't want to end up needlessly dying because I took a physical risk for the thrill of it. That's not to say I don't love adventure, but there are just some things that I would probably avoid that might bring joy in the rush of the experience in favor of experiencing joy in other, less risky things.

This sounds a lot like me.

Sometimes, emotionally, it's like I jump in too quick and without thinking, and then other times I think it to death. It tends to be in the middle of those two extremes or leaning towards the latter, but the former still happens sometimes.

Physically, I am a wimp. I'm very cautious. It could be because I'm a klutz and so I'm very careful. I've broken my arm 3 different times from falling, rolled my ankle from walking on ice and playing racquetball, among other random bumps and bruises. I was always the slowest stepping on rocks to cross the creek, the one saying, "I think I'll stay here and just watch", etc. Some of the "thrills" I have done are small things, like riding on a motorcycle and cliff jumping (which I doubt I'd do it again).

 

[lil_christian]

Physically, I take no risks.

Emotionally, I take few risks.

Financially, I take more risks there than anywhere else, but not beyond reason. The riskiest move financially for me at the moment has been my dog. We weren't sure if he injured his back or if he had a tumor, and we took a big financial risk to make sure his condition was correctable. It was a risk that paid off, and he's now on the mend. Little by little, he's getting better. I can't say all of the things I've taken risks on have paid off...but you know, that's what happens when you take a risk. You either profit or you get burnt bad.

 

[BugeyeSTi]

Emotional: Rarely if ever do I ever venture out of my box, at least previously, so not really much risk there.

Physical: *rubs hands together* *Don't try this at home folks* I take allot of risk with my body. Most of you know I snowboard and I take risks trying to push myself farther/faster each time. This has led to various amounts of head banging, tail bone smacking, and generally painful experiences. Speed is a thrill like none other and in pursuit of copious amounts of it, I've had my fair share of spills. Let's just say spills at anything above 40 MPH are painful, and anything to do with trees always ends up being a hard hit, no matter how slow you're going. I've probably driven my car about twice as fast as most people will go in a car too(Yes, I did it safely). I live for the adrenaline rush, so I keep doing these types of things to feed my inner craving.


To sum it up, I take risk because of the thrill that "the other side" provides.

 

[gypsygirl]

Physical: *rubs hands together* *Don't try this at home folks* I take allot of risk with my body. Most of you know I snowboard and I take risks trying to push myself farther/faster each time. This has led to various amounts of head banging, tail bone smacking, and generally painful experiences. Speed is a thrill like none other and in pursuit of copious amounts of it, I've had my fair share of spills. Let's just say spills at anything above 40 MPH are painful, and anything to do with trees always ends up being a hard hit, no matter how slow you're going. I've probably driven my car about twice as fast as most people will go in a car too(Yes, I did it safely). I live for the adrenaline rush, so I keep doing these types of things to feed my inner craving.


To sum it up, I take risk because of the thrill that "the other side" provides.

there's my adrenaline-loving younger brother!!!

i was starting to feel like the freakjob among all these prudent, well-behaved people. : )

 

[MissCris]

there's my adrenaline-loving younger brother!!!

i was starting to feel like the freakjob among all these prudent, well-behaved people. : )

I wouldn't say I'm well-behaved, so much as afraid of heights, high speeds, and dying a painful death. And falling. And going splat.

But I make up for it by being completely irrational, impulsive, and fickle. Like an emotional tornado.

Incidentally, I have an irrational fear of tornadoes.

I actually really admire people who aren't afraid of physical pain.