I was recently doing research for an article on Northern California beaches and I came across this sign in Santa Cruz. Pretty daunting, eh? Makes you wonder why anyone would get in the water to go surfing or swimming. But they do... and it got me to thinking about taking risks - why we do it and how do we mitigate against them in the face of uncertainty.
Why do we take risks and what's really in it for us? The common understanding is that we take risks in order to get to something that we feel we'll enjoy or something that will benefit us - essentially the whole risk/reward notion. For example, surfers will brave the great white sharks hunting for seals off of the waters of Nor Cal because they love the experience of surfing the waves - for them the reward outweighs the risks. And for those who may not be fully aware of the risks involved, they're super clearly outlined for them on the sign above. :)
But what about those situations where the 'sign' is not as obvious and the risks are not clearly known? How do we make choices and move forward in the light of uncertainty? We see something that we may want to 'try' but how do we know that we'll even like it or that it will benefit us. There is an 'up-front' risk and our risk/reward guide doesn't know how to calculate it properly... so we freeze and the energy stops flowing. If this happens repeatedly it can even become a recurring pattern of fear, limiting us from the full experience of life - no waves, no hang 10, no fun... real bummer dude.
One potential strategy for moving forward is to seek to mitigate the risk and in doing so shift the balance of the risk/reward equation in our favor. This is where the potential upside (even though unknown) would still be perceived as greater than the risk because that risk has been minimized to make the 'math' work. It does take a bit of negotiation but with a little practice it really can be achieved in most situations. I know, because my wife and I try it with our son most evenings at the dinner table trying to get him to try something new to eat that he's never had before (his risk that it will taste yucky) by using some form of reward (dessert = something he knows he likes). :)
The difference with adults is that risks are very often 'thrust upon' us and risk mitigation is something that we usually have to practice by ourselves (no parents to guide us at the dinner table). Whether it be a new project or role at work, making a new dinner recipe for your family, engaging socially with a new group, going in for the first kiss or trying surfing for the first time, we're confronted with risk situations almost daily. We don't know if the reward will be worth it and the risks of failure (especially for a first time experience) appear to be fairly large - how do we mitigate these situations daily so that we are able to move forward and grow?
The strategy that I'll offer up today is a simple one - go to what you love and go to where you are strong when approaching a risky situation. Realize that you don't have to take on ALL of a huge unknown risk today - you can scout it out and add to your knowledge base one activity at a time. You may feel that you do have to brave the sharks, the cold water, the undertow, large waves and eroding cliffs all at once... but it's very rarely the case (it may just feel like it). You could take each one on separately, mitigating the risk as you go along to see if the reward is really worth it - and enjoy the experience while you're at it.
So, as I sat looking at this sign I thought that perhaps there might be a better way to experience much of what was being offered but mitigate my risk in a way that worked for me and focused on what I loved and where I was strong - I came up with a risk mitigation plan that worked for me in the NOW. Still some risk but something I could work with today and keep me moving forward:
All the Best,
Whitney
© 2012 All rights reserved, Whitney Merrill
No comments:
Post a Comment