Take intelligent risks to progress

Risk-taking has fallen out of favour during the past several years, a victim of the economic downturn and global unrest. Indeed, the business mood has become cautious to a fault.

Sit tight. Keep your head down. Above all, minimise risk. This is what passes for sage advice in today's business world. Short-term thinking and risk aversion dominates the planet. The word risk has a slightly negative connotation to it - it implies danger, tension, and possible loss.

But risk also has a positive side, the chance of hitting a big win, of getting more on the back side than you invest on the front side.

Emotional benefit

All risks are not equal. Some risks are just plain dumb, and you should never take them. But even in those cases, there's usually some emotional benefit.

What about intelligent risks? Those are obviously the ones where the upside outweighs the downside, at least probability-wise. We all know it's generally a bad idea to take dumb risks, where your expected outcome is negative and the potential upside is limited.

It's equally stupid to pass up an intelligent risk, where your expected outcome is positive and the potential downside is limited. Those are the risks you should jump at if your goal is to grow. Most of us are pretty good at avoiding dumb risks, unless you happen to be reading this from jail.

But as Sri Lankans we're exceptionally lousy at taking intelligent risks. The stupidest mistakes we make are errors of omission. Once you let go off an opportunity its gone forever.

Flat period

Are you playing it too safe and getting nowhere fast? Are you stuck in the comfort zone and hoping to have a mistake-free, loss-free and stress-free life? It may sound like the good life, but it is actually the 'no-life' way to go.

The flat period is the hardest because you're working hard and getting little returns. That's life. Give yourself 'permission' to work hard and have little to show for it, as long as you intelligently hold a positive long-term outlook.

Change

You should be willing to hold unconventional or unpopular positions, never be afraid to take on a challenge, always keep focused on your dreams and do whatever it takes to achieve them. By taking such risks your personal growth, integrity and accomplishments are enhanced. You need to do something that forces you to stretch from your present state to that of greater personal growth. This applies in business and in our personal lives.

Quantum leaps in learning, solving problems, inventing new products, and discovering new phenomena require risk taking.

Anything you do in life is risky. Risk is, by definition, the possibility of incurring loss or misfortune. "To be alive involves some risk." The risk is of being alive is dying.

When you go to school you risk failing in your examinations. When you marry you risk divorce. When you drive you risk being involved in an accident.

The very nature of life requires risk taking.

A small child would never learn to walk, talk, or socially interact without taking risks, experiencing successes and failures, and monitoring and adjusting accordingly.

The person, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. I know that that person is not you. You are all you can be. Go on and be it.