The importance of risk-taking in life

As we embrace potential harm that comes with an endeavour, we must be aware of the harvests we can reap. Some risks are worth taking and some are not and getting to the effort of risking it must not lack purpose or order

Failure is a much-denounced word in the times we live in. There is an insistence to not lose what we hold and fail at things in an intimidating world which takes twists and turns at every possibility. This often pushes us to hold on to the things we have and preserve them, instead of creatively reconstructing our realities. Such an approach, however, yields fewer rewards and a great degree of passivity. To be risk-averse often translates to a culture of fear, less action and no innovation. We can disregard significant opportunities and possibilities of learning in a conservative state of inactivity, where we futilely attempt to secure ourselves from the unpredictable nature of the world we inhabit and the lives we lead.

One may deem not being a risk-taker to be a prudent choice to make. It can be argued that if I have the choice to conform and keep things in place for myself, not risking things might be a good idea. However, if we ponder what is wrong with a brand of prudence like this, the answer is not difficult to find. Long-term, or permanent security against the ebbs and flows of life is a myth. Any safety in life has to be consistently maintained through new sets of actions in unforeseen circumstances. If an illusory comfort zone keeps us at bay, every action we take is contained and the potential we hold is unsparingly suffocated. The spheres we inhabit seldom give us chances to fulfil our most cherished and intimate dreams, and they can certainly not be realized through limited, fearful action.

Risking it, furthermore, is not necessarily risking it all. Risks do not have to be equated with mindless action or rash behaviour and can be calculated. Looking at the pros and cons of an act in the most rudimentary of ways can reveal whether the risk is worth taking and if the rewards outweigh the troubles to be encountered. Risking, most fundamentally is linked to activity and action and like involves responsibility. Accordingly, risks can be managed with sound judgement and self-awareness even as we take them. The important thing is to not stay away from acting in the first place.

History bristles with stories of successful risk-takers. As Inc.com reports Oprah Winfrey, who has created a multimedia brand legacy and launched multiple philanthropic organizations during the course of her career, with a net worth of $3 billion risked her financial security in the mid 1980s to host her own television show. The Oprah Winfrey Show went on to become the highest rated program of its kind in history. Closer home, as CNBC-TV18 notes, Wow! Momos began humbly with a kitchen, two cooks and a table in Jadavpur and with some success, encountered struggles of its own with unremarkable sales in some locations. However, resilience and a belief in action and execution, the startup today is an exemplary success story.

Keeping the possibility of failure in mind, it would be a reasonable question to ask how to take risks. A most certain place to begin is to accept not just the possibility but the inevitability of failing, at some level, at some point. Risks have to be taken with cons being taken as seriously as the pros and with success and failure being considered as probable. The key lies in not getting bogged down by any grand or micro failures which come in the path of executing a risky endeavour. Simultaneously, it is important to keep evaluating the enterprise and know when to abandon it and start afresh with new things. Failing is a certain window to substantial learning and when we start anew, we meet new risks with better preparedness.

The other necessity is to methodically and objectively assess the risk. Ideas are important but the execution in the real world is almost more crucial in the larger scheme of things. As we embrace potential harm that comes with an endeavour, we must be aware of the harvests we can reap. Some risks are worth taking and some are not and getting to the effort of risking it must not lack purpose or order.

In any case, reliance on action is necessary. I'm innovation or creating things of consequence through unprecedented creativity, this requires doing risky, new things. Dreams are seldom realized in comfort zones, the revolutionary comes out of the courage to embrace risk. To quote Alice Bag, "Safe is prudent, safe is comfortable but progress is propelled by those who are willing to risk it all." It is important to refuse operating from a place of fear and courageously base our worth and satisfaction of acting. To win, to achieve, to leave our footprints, we need to risk it!

(The author is founder, Upsurge Global,and Senior Advisor, Telangana State Innovation Council)