What keeps you up at night? Most likely, it’s a risk of some sort. The risk that you won’t complete a project on time, the chance that you’ll make a mistake, a problem or puzzle carries the possibility of not being able to solve it.
The future is a risky place. We don’t know what we’ll find there, and our brains don’t like it. Our brains have a job to do… they have to keep our sorry bottoms out of trouble. Our mind has to make sure we’re getting food, staying out of the rain and finding some tribe members. So basically, cheese snacks, binge-watching on the couch and social media is our brain’s idea of a good time. How about doing that for the rest of your life? You in? Didn’t think so.
The image is pretty grim.
So is the alternative – which basically amounts to taking chances.
I looked up the synonyms for risk – danger, exposure, uncertainty, peril, hazard, jeopardy, gamble. Sounds GREAT. No wonder we hide at home
When you interview for a new position – nervous city, dude. Staying where you’re at? Seems safe. Snacks, Movies, Living Room.
How about if you start changing the way you manage your work? Taking on new responsibilities, speaking out in meetings, letting everybody in the company find out what you really think and what you’re really capable of? Sound like a good time? Not so much. Better stay quiet, keep your head down, don’t fill out that employee survey. Cake, Re-runs, Standing at the counter in your Kitchen
Here’s the thing – there’s a limit on your potential. I know. Your life coach tells you that you can do anything. And you can. But you can’t do it from the laundry room. With a fistful of potato chips. You have to take a risk. We all have a limit, something that’s holding us back – and the only way past it is to take a chance on something new.
Here’s an example of one of mine. I couldn’t see the difference between what I was doing in my job and what other people who were one level up were doing. I just couldn’t see it. So, I didn’t know how to work above my level. Working at the next level is always something I aspire to, but I was limited by my ability to discern the skills that were needed, the actions that were being taken. I really couldn’t see what I needed to change.
Until I took a risk.
I looked up the synonyms for risk – opportunity, possibility, prospect, fortune, fortuity, luck. Now those, sound pretty good right?
Here’s the wickedly interesting thing: the risk seemed totally unrelated. I started a side hustle.
Starting a side hustle meant I was way busy. It meant changing my personal schedule and remaining committed to my primary employer. In no way did I want my day job to suffer. I wanted to be excellent there AND at home.
Things started to slip. Not huge, just a bit. At home, at work, at other work, with family. RISKY STUFF. Scary. I thought maybe I should get a box of cookies and quit everything. Get safe again. But I didn’t.
What happened? As things started to get out of my control, I had to look for a way to handle these new challenges. I had to start thinking about why I was struggling. I talked to my manager, who is way smart. I worked with my coach. I had an ah-ha moment. In order for me to handle all these challenges and not sacrifice my health, my sleep or my performance, I needed new skills. Now that I was neck-deep in a challenge, I could see exactly what I needed to learn. I needed to learn how to get out of the trouble I was in. I needed the skills that the people just ahead of me on the path have – and they got those skills by overcoming obstacles – like how to work smarter instead of harder – like how to get out of the way of their teammates so that they could start working on new skills of their own.
OOOOOH. Now I get it.
I couldn’t even see around the corner to understand that there was a path, never mind how it was laid out until I took a risk. Without taking a risk, you will never see the way past your current limitations.
So if you want to push your limits, you have to take risks. The two go hand in hand.
I looked up some synonyms for risk: contingency, flyer, header, openness, plunge, speculation, stab, venture, wager, and last, but not least…