You may have heard the phrase “take the risk or lose the chance” before, but what does it really mean?
It represents a core method of thinking that many people utilize to help guide their day-to-day decision-making and consider all big decisions.
It can be applied to personal and professional decisions, and we’re going to look at how it can lead to growth and more satisfaction with your life in general.
- What Does “Take the Risk or Lose the Chance” Mean?
- Who Says “Take the Risk or Lose the Chance?”
- Why Are We Inherently Opposed to Taking Risks?
- Are Risk Takers More Successful in Life?
- The Benefits When You Decide to Take the Risk and Not Lose the Chance!
- What Are Calculated Risks?
- How Should You Take Risks?
- Is Taking a Risk Worth It?
- Wrapping Up
What Does “Take the Risk or Lose the Chance” Mean?
When someone says to take the risk or lose the chance, it represents a way of thinking countless successful people use to help guide their risk assessment and decision-making process.
It means that even though there may be a significant chance of failure, the slight chance of success can make the overall risk worth it.
As long as the risk does not present a danger of harm, and the choice is essentially between simply failing at an attempt or regretting never making an attempt, the risk will always be worth it.
It goes hand in hand with the fact that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Who Says “Take the Risk or Lose the Chance?”
The quote “take the risk or lose the chance” is attributed to Marko Halilovic.
Marko Halilovic is a Toronto-based content creator and motivational speaker.
He helps inspire people to take healthy risks in their lives, ultimately leading to realizing their dreams and aspirations.
Why Are We Inherently Opposed to Taking Risks?
There have been countless hours put into researching why humans are relatively risk-averse.
The areas of the brain that govern decision-making are composed of four times as many excitatory cells as inhibitory cells.
Children are the most common example of this, often acting on impulse or excitement while giving little heed to the risk involved in the activity.
The older we get, the more conscious we become of risk and potential consequences.
The balance of excitatory cells to inhibitory cells undergoes a significant shift, allowing our inhibitions to take over.
As a result, adults are more likely to not act out of impulse and base excitement, instead choosing to weigh the consequences of the risks.
Are Risk Takers More Successful in Life?
Risk-takers tend to not only be more successful in life, but they also tend to gain more satisfaction from life as well.
They are persistent in their ambitions and tend to learn from each failure they make to pursue their goals.
They have a very low fear of failure since they see each failure as an opportunity, and as a result, they frequently stand out from the crowd.
Risk-takers are also highly adaptable and show more resilience in life.
The Benefits When You Decide to Take the Risk and Not Lose the Chance!
There are few things worse than feeling like you’re stuck in a rut, either personally or professionally.
Taking risks can help you break free of those feelings and realize a new dimension to your life.
New Possibilities
Taking risks brings with it the potential to unlock new possibilities in your life.
Moving to a city, for example, can bring you a massive influx of friends, business contacts, and life experiences.
Something as small as taking a different route to work that you’ve never driven can lead to you passing a business that is looking for someone with your exact skill set.
Builds Confidence
Taking risks and experiencing new things can help build your confidence immensely.
Whether you succeed or fail after taking a risk, you’ve done it; you’ve taken the risk.
You decided to leave your comfort zone, which is often the most challenging part for many people.
Stand Out
Navigating risk-taking successfully can make you an individual that people take notice of.
For example, if you risk making an unconventional proposal at work, even if it fails, you thought outside the box, and you suggested something that nobody else could have imagined.
Risk-taking makes you stand out to others, whether it results in a win or a loss.
Helps You Grow
Taking risks helps you develop as a person, no matter what the risk is.
Do you have an intimidating home repair that you’ve been avoiding?
Hiring someone to do that repair for you is avoiding the risk while watching a few YouTube videos about it, and trying it yourself is taking the risk.
Sure, you might fail, but you might succeed, and either way, you’ve gained valuable insight and experience.
Learn to Embrace Discomfort
Risk-taking inherently creates a level of discomfort in the risk-taker.
Taking risks often helps you get used to outside your comfort zone.
You’ll also become more comfortable with the prospect of failure, minimizing your fear of it.
What Are Calculated Risks?
Calculated risks are just risks where you have deeply analyzed the potential outcome of failure versus the benefits of success.
If you have estimated the chances of failure and success and the various drawbacks or benefits of those outcomes, you’re dealing with a calculated risk.
How Should You Take Risks?
If you want to start taking more risks in your life, you’re going to need to understand how to do it wisely.
Here are some tips for taking risks and how to go about risk-taking intelligently.
- Make sure you have a system for evaluating the risks you face. This assessment should include the pros and cons of the risk to determine if it’s one potentially worth taking.
- Understand that failure is not the end of the world, and learn to overcome your fear of it. Constantly focusing on the possible negative outcome of the risk can lead to circular thinking and anxiety that breeds inaction.
- Focus on how success can lead to change in your life. Change can be highly intimidating, but keeping the upside of that change in sight can help lower that intimidation.
- You may not have to take some risks all at once. If there is a way to take risks in smaller increments, it can make the entire process easier.
- Learn from those who are experienced and successful risk-takers. Trying something new can be scary, but speaking to someone who has already taken that step and been successful can build confidence.
Is Taking a Risk Worth It?
In some situations, taking a certain risk absolutely will not be worth it, while in other cases, it will be.
Everyone’s risk tolerance will be a little different, but generally, only a few things should matter when evaluating your risk.
The risk should not put you in a dangerous situation.
Failure should not harm you or your loved ones.
Next, see if there’s anything you can do to minimize the risk.
Be persistent because sometimes it means failing.
Finally, leave the opinions of others out of your equation, don’t let their fear influence your ambition.
Wrapping Up
Remember, sometimes, you need to leap for the net to appear.
Spending all of your time thinking about what failure may feel like or the unpleasant consequences of that failure can condition your brain to stay firmly in your comfort zone.
Growth doesn’t happen in your comfort zone, though, so if you want to grow and develop in your personal and professional life, you will have to jump eventually.
How does this make you think about potential life choices?
Be sure to join the conversation and comment with your thoughts or questions.