"Life is a risk." -- Diane von Fürstenberg
At different points of our life, we often find ourselves at a stage where we have to take very important decisions, decisions that could and almost always affect the rest of our lives, and maybe even the lives of those depending on us; to add to the stress of that, every decision comes with its own set of risks, and possibilities of things going right or wrong. All that makes these stages and the decisions we have to take even harder for us.
A lot of people decide to play it safe, and take a zero-risk approach, sometimes even by not doing anything at all, letting life take the decisions for them and steer their fate.
The problem is that by not taking risks or by not doing anything, you might not lose anything, but there's no way you're going to win anything either, which is an even bigger risk in itself.
"If you don't risk anything you risk even more." -- Erica Jong
"The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all." -- Jawaharlal Nehru
I guess the whole approach a person should take to life and its decisions is to try to calculate and limit the risk, but not eliminate taking risks and chances altogether.
A person should weigh all the options available and what results those options could have, and then decide on how much risk they're willing to take in correspondence with the level of certainty of the results.
"Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash." -- George S. Patton
Life is full of risks, and it's not easy, generous nor fair; Life only gives to those who take their chances, persist and work hard.
"The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf." -- Shakti Gawain
Words are easy, but when a person is in a position where much of his future depends on this one decision and how much risk he's willing to take on it, it's a whole other ball game, by nature many of us are tempted to go for the safest route.
What we have to do is ask ourselves, is it really the safest?
Am I not risking to lose my chances by not taking them?
Am I not risking to throw my life away by not doing anything?
Am I not risking to live a life I don't want just because I didn't have the guts to grab the life I want?
