dream | act | succeed

Risk taking. Not the easiest thing to do. Some might say, there is no real answer to that problem. Either you don’t take risks at all and stay at the point in life, where you are currently standing, or you take too much risks and lose everything you have.

Today I took a decision to avoid taking risks. I have invested a lot of time in something, a lot of energy to be precisely, but still, I don’t feel good when thinking about it. Something tells me that is isn’t a good thing to do. Of course the decision was not easy for me to take, not after all these hours I have spent with it, but I have done it. Whether this was a good decision or not, we will see in the future. But it is how it is. I am the person in control.

When it comes to taking risks, everyone is different. Why some are more on the riskier side of life, actually needing the kick of adrenaline rushing through their vein when doing something dangerous or risky, others don’t like that feeling at all. For me personally, I am definitely on the more secured side of life. For me, jumping into the cold water is a really hard thing to do. Even with a wetsuit and a safety vest.

Why didn’t I stopped earlier in the process? That is a good question, actually. It seems like I was ok with taking the risks all the time, but now seem to panic last minute. Is it just that? I don’t think so. I just realized one important thing today. I actually have learned something! Your life is not supposed to be hard. You are making it hard by yourself. I was just don’t doing myself a favor with it. I would stress myself in such a way, that it would be too much for me. It would throw me off the right course, pushing me into a corner where I don’t want to be after all.

The decision is right. Not because I know that by fact, but because I say that. This is my life. I am the one who is responsible. I am the one to blame. But therefore, I am the one who can make the decisions. Today, I have chosen to avoid taking a lot of risks, but tomorrow, tomorrow, there can be another completely new and unique situation coming up on the horizon. Rom wasn’t build in a day, why do we think that we need to do all the stuff as soon as possible?

Sounds strange, when reading over this last sentence again. I mean, I am the definition of doing a lot. But that is not what I mean. People these days are looking for the short cuts, for the easiest way from point A to point B. But what they forget is the fact, that is not about arriving after all. The journey is the thing that teaches you something. You don’t study mechanical engineering for 5 years and get connected to a hard drive on your last day, getting the new update of the “engineer 2020“. It is not about getting the diploma, its about each and every single step to get there.

Dealing with risks is an unavoidable procedure. It doesn’t matter what you are you trying to do this time in life, risks will be there, all the time, every time. So the question is not how to avoid risks after all, but instead, how to deal with them. Well, from the engineering side of view, you can actually calculate risks and minimize them by defining measures and actions. So its not that we can’t use these strategies and in fact minimize the risks, but the thing is, the risks we are facing are just different compared to the risks an engineer might need to deal with in his daily life, right? No, of course not, but it feels so good to believe that! Our situation is so unique. That is making it easier to deal with it. But in truth, our situation is more than average. Not more and not less. But our problems are about other things, right?

Well, in fact, it doesn’t matter what the situation is all about, in which kind of situation you are in and so on and so on. Risks stay risks. But the consequences are the one that are important. If I take a decision as an engineer at a company, this is not my money that’s on the counter in front of me, right? So, I take the decision, but the consequences? I mean, sure, somehow or another I am responsible for it, but its not the end of the world, right? With the problems and situations we are facing here in the the world of the entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs, we actually will have some big problem if this whole thing goes puff one day or another, right? The money on the counter? That is yours! Your dreams, your situation, your life. That is on the counter! The thing for what you stand for, your company, the thing you invested so much time in for the last decade.

Today, I stand for who I am. I took the decision. Actually, I am kind of proud for doing it. Of course it is never a waste of time to do something, cause you always learn something anyways, but still, its kind of a painful thing to do, but of course needed to be done. Reaching your goals sometimes can mean to take a step backwards. But is it really a step towards the back? Or do I learn so much about myself while taking this hard decision, that actually, I am going to learn much more from that decision alone, than I would have learned by keeping on sailing into the risky territory I don’t even want to be in?

Sometimes we need to take risks, sometimes we don’t. The question is not which decision we take, but rather that we stand for who we are. Because in the end, there is always another way how to get there, right? It doesn’t need to be the direct line between point A and B that is the right path, but I guess, that’s already clear after checking out my the road to success category. Nobody said that it would be easy, but nobody said it needs to be hard, either. It is always up to you. Your life, your decision. Your company, your decision. Taking risks? A hard thing to deal with. But we love challenges anyways, right?

How do you deal with these situations in life? What is you approach? Share it with me, if you like.

See you next time!