Take the Risk!

The Reward of Risk

(Please take a few seconds to read the text in the above Picture....)

"I would rather fail in trying, than succeed at being mediocre."  - Chanel T. Bastfield
 

Good Afternoon Everyone! I pray your weekend was splendid and you had a chance to enjoy the wonderful weather.

Pay It Forward: I sponsored a child from my church to play laser tag. The fee was only $13 bucks but with the economy being so fickle, that may be the determining factor in whether a kid can go on the trip or not. So...I gave the money for an unknown kid to enjoy a day of laser tag fun.

This week’s blog is about taking risk! I've been researching Dr. Ben Carson all morning and he has some great insight into the notion of taking acceptable risk. The key term being acceptable. If you never step out of your comfort zone and launch out into the deep, how will you ever learn or experience the FULL potential of what this life has for YOU. In my opinion, we tend to stay in our comfort zones because it's the safe space that we feel we have control over. If we stick to what we know, we minimize our chances of getting disappointed and or rejected. As creatures of habit, being in control of our destiny and everything therein {or at least feeling like we are} makes us feel secure. Right?

Taking the risk is oftentimes associated with negative results. "It's not worth the risk" or "Avoid the risk at all cost" are just a few mindsets that keep people in a state of mediocrity. Yes, you may temporarily avoid disappointment, yes, you may temporarily feel accomplished in your complacency but you may also experience great reward and personal fulfillment in taking the risk!

For example: I think back to when I was playing the penny machines at the casino...yes, playing the penny machines were safe, didn't seem to cost me much and when I won...it made me feel like I was doing something special by seeing 500 winner on the screen!! But....as I graduated to playing the quarter machines I realized...my cost may be a little more and the risk of loss is higher...but when I did win 500..it was 500 QUARTERS instead of 500 PENNIES! You get the picture I'm painting?

I stepped out of my comfort zone and looked at the big picture. This helped me to see that staying safe and taking minimal risk isn't always the answer for success. There will be times when you have to throw caution to the wind and take the risk! There will be times when you have to make a decision where the risk of loss may be higher but...instead of looking at what you could lose, look at what you could possibly gain! Also, even if you make the decision to take the risk...and it's not the best decision, at least you've received a valuable life lesson and you can say, "I at least tried and I now know the results of that particular action." Dr. Carson outlines how to determine when to take the risk and his system is one that I feel could lead to empowerment in many dynamics of life! If you are interested in this topic pick up his book, Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live With Acceptable Risk.

Perhaps you are dealing with an issue in your professional or personal life and you are struggling over making a move based on the risk of the decision. To get you started answer the following questions:

- What’s the best that can happen if I do this?

 - What’s the worst that can happen if I do this?

      - What’s the best that can happen if I don't do this?

       - What’s the worst that can happen if I don't do this?

The risk just may lead to an even GREATER reward!

Have an AMAZING week!

Chanel-