#RISK: WHY WE GET SCARED OF BEING FIRST

It was time to submit our project topics to the department for them to know what our research interest was and suggest fitting supervisors for us. However, that did not seem like a good period for me, because it was a moment of decision that really mattered. We were advised to choose topics that we were very interested in, and we can go along with even up to a doctorate level.

I do not know if it is only me that feels very uncertain when it comes to making such major decisions that can affect your life’s experience in a big way. As little as choosing a topic was, it meant choosing a supervisor, it meant choosing an area of specialization. To be honest, I had thought of it a lot even before this time came, however, my major fear was not how hectic or wide my area of research was, but how many people had done it in my department before.

I came to discover that that was the first time it was going to be done, and that gave me a big scare. In that case, I dropped that topic and looked for something that had been covered to an extent before.

I know… You never had that kind of a problem; in fact, you made a groundbreaking research of what the future holds in your field… Bravo. However, the aim of this article is not to discuss research topics and outcomes. If I am to give this another title, it will be ‘Why we HATE Risk’. Because, that really is what I am trying to drive home.

The word ‘Risk’ has become a very frightening word in our world today. Once someone says, ‘that thing is risky’, it almost automatically means, ‘do not try it!’ However, one thing I have come to understand is that the greatest risk you can get involved with is not taking risk. The potential of success in a high-risk business may be very low, however it can never get as low as it will be when you do not try it. When you refuse to try it, the potential of success is zero (0).

We are often scared of getting involved in things that do not guarantee a high amount of security and insurance. However, come to think off it, everyone is at risk every day of falling prey to many things we try to avoid; death, illness, accidents, and so on. Why do you not fall ill every day? Why are you not involved in accidents every day? I know you have an answer, ‘He that watches over me neither slumbers nor sleeps’… Cool bro! … That may be your truth, but to your neighbor, he is finding it hard to understand what that line means. Yet, he is going through the same cycle as you are.

Risk is a cycle. Many people define risk as a potential for failure, some define it as potential uncertainty, and some define it as insecurity. No matter what you define risk as, it is important that risk is an ever-present cycle, because, Life itself is a risk, and everything in this world is a risk. Religion, Business, Education, Politics, and every other thing in the society carry an amount of risk in every of its operation.

Therefore, if you are looking for anything that is not risky, I know one. Death! Death is certain. Everyone will die someday, so why not look for death now if you decide to run away from risk.

Many researches show several facts about risk in our daily life, and if we decide not to do things because of how risky they seem, then we are simply saying that we do not want to live life. Many people prefer the average life, because they get to live with unknown risk alone. Once they know the risk involved, they withdraw from such things.

However, let us look at the bright side of taking risk. Every invention, innovation, business breakthrough that has come into this world has come out of someone taking risk. Sometimes people die in the process, yet the result looks successful to those who are alive to see it. However, if no one took the risk, many of these things will not come to be.

What if I try and it does not work out for me?... What if you try and it does work out for you? We are often scared of getting things wrong, of getting hurt, of failing. However, those little hurts or large failures never lead to total destruction. There is always a lesson to learn from every ill and hurt that you would have never learned if you never tried. Thomas Edison said, ′I did not just discover how to make a light bulb, I discovered 999 ways not to make it and 999 ways to start other inventions’.  Why not try it today.

It is better to be optimistic about life, that way you will always look towards the bright side of life. Though risk-takers are potential losers, much more risk-takers are potential winners. The higher the risk, the greater the potential success.

After volunteering during World War I, Ray Kroc spent his career selling paper cups and milk shake machines. He was not doing badly with his business and career. At the age of 53, Kroc decided to go to California to meet a restaurant had bought eight of his multi-mixers. He became convinced that the concept and design of this small chain had the potential to expand across the nation. He was so impressed about the operation and administration of the restaurant that he decided to give up what he was doing and partner with the owners of this restaurant.

At the age of 59, Ray Kroc purchased the company. He transformed McDonald’s into the world’s largest franchise before his death. He was worth about $600 million. Kroc was not the founder of the fast food idea; however, he was smart enough to see the future in it. He took the big risk and he sure did win big.

That thing you thought of might never have been implemented before, you spoke to professionals about it and they laughed off your idea. Take the risk, work on it. It is worth trying. It may not bring the result you imagined, but there is definitely a result it will bring that you need.

Life consists of every one taking known and unknown risks every day. Life itself is a risk, so do not lose it by not taking that risk. However, it is important to know that not all risks are worth trying. Be smart enough to know which one is necessary for you to take.

Stop asking yourself what if it does not work, start asking, ‘what if it works?’