Risk-Taking June 23, 2009
One of the ways to understand another human being is to observe her or his relationship to risk and reward. Kahlil Gibran said, “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”
Risk is inherent in every part of the human condition from being a parent to climbing Mount Everest. The rewards we create are generally directly proportionate to the amount of risk we take. Yet, it doesn’t seem appropriate to glorify mountain climbing over parenting or painting or getting in shape, for example, just because mountain climbing is more dangerous — that is, because it has more physical risk.
How do you feel about risking your heart and mind in service of something that you care about deeply? How do you personally assess the relationship between risk and reward? Where did you learn how to do that? Are you risking enough to get the rewards you want?