Last week I blogged that life is one big risk-taking adventure. You can engage in the adventure or wrap yourself up in a cocoon to emerge just in time to wrap yourself in a coffin. When stated that way, I’m a big candidate for the adventure. The question is how to manage risk as best I can. I say “as best I can” because no one has a crystal ball predicting the future. We all jump off the proverbial cliff when we take a risk. The questions we need to ask are how high is that cliff; what’s at the bottom; do I need a parachute; what’s the pay-off versus risk of jumping or not even jumping at all? The worst thing we could do is jump off blindfolded and hope for the best.

Risk seemed easier to absorb when I was younger. I didn’t have so much too lose. Or I didn’t have enough life experience to know better. Or the adrenaline rush from jumping off the risk cliff was greater than the pain felt when I hit the bottom. I don’t even think I would have classified a lot of the choices I made as risk-taking. I assumed the cars would stop at the red light and I could go safely on green. It was as simple as that. I was in love and wanted to get married; he loved me, what else was there to consider? Move 3,000 miles across country to a town where we knew no one to start a new career; why the heck not? Dye my hair red — well maybe that one was a risk.

I look at risk a little differently now. I’m not afraid to take risks but I am more likely to weigh the options before plunging off a high cliff, or even a moderate one. Let’s just say I’ve gotten a bit wiser, learned from my mistakes. Dr. Ben Carson, a world-famous brain surgeon, approaches risk with what he calls his Best/Worst Analysis or B/WA. Below are the four questions he asks himself when analysing the risk factor of a decision he’s trying to make.

1. What is the best thing that can happen if I do this?
2. What is the worst thing that can happen if I do this?
3. What is the best thing that can happen if I don’t do this?
4. What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t do this?

He notches up his analysis a bit by taking himself out of the middle of the situation:

1. Look at things from other people’s perspectives.
2. Drop the entitlement card and don’t feel that all the rights belong to me.
3. Remove my ego from the equation.
4. Don’t let emotions get stirred up and my actions controlled by reactions to other people, my environment, etc (fear, anger, loneliness and such).

You can read more about Dr. Carson’s approach to risk by reading his book, Take the Risk, 2008, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI). Next Monday I will post inspirational quotes on risk-taking.

Risk is defined by the dictionary as the possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger; a factor, element or course involving uncertain hazard. Whoa, doesn’t sound like something I want to tangle with. Seriously, why would I want to take on something that had the potential to inflict harm, loss, danger or hazard to or in my life?

The reality is we take on risk as an every day occurrence. Have you ever sped up to make a yellow light, let alone run a red light? Have you ever bought a house with a hefty mortgage banking on the fact that you are a rising young star at your company with lots of supposed income potential ahead of you? Have you ever taken a beneficial medication that has an entire page of warnings as to the possible ill-effects of its use? Have you ever gone out on a date with a special someone not knowing if your heart will be broken down the road? Have you ever conceived a child even though you know there is a genetic disorder in your family history?

Risk has become a four-letter word in our culture, yet we are exposed to and even engage in risky adventures and relationships on a regular basis. But we don’t think of it that way. We are risk-adverse and security-obsessed. Insurance policies, warranties, Consumer Reports safety tests, back-ups to our back-ups are the order of the day. But, to quote Ben Carson in his book, Take the Risk, (2008, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI): “Anyone who refuses to test his limits, anyone unwilling to move out of her comfort zone, is destined to live life inside the envelope. (p8) Carson is an internationally acclaimed brain surgeon who gained his reputation for being willing to take on what others would call extremely risky surgeries.

The true question becomes, then, not whether we take a risk but whether it’s an appropriate risk to take. Next Monday, I will blog on Carson’s tool for analyzing risk.

Blogging. Social networking. MySpace. Welcome to the world of Web 2.0. I was just getting the hang of this internet thing when 2.0 came onto the scene. Funny, I was one of the first people I knew who used the internet for basic, effective international business communication, but the tidal wave swept past me because I never lifted by head up long enough to realize I was using internet “old-think.”

This meant that my habits of approaching and dealing with the internet were no longer effective and I was going to have to change if I wanted to keep up with the curve, let alone stay ahead of it. Life’s like that. We often set the cruise control and expect to get to our destination — when the road may have changed, roadblocks might have popped up, or the destination itself many no longer suit our needs. Operating on auto-pilot can be efficient but not always effective.

So the questions I have for you: Are you living on auto-pilot or do you have a specific plan and purpose for your life? Are you wandering aimlessly in the desert or living on lush, verdant land?

Join me on my weekly blogging journey as I discuss topics that can help you navigate and create your own fulfilling life story. I don’t have all the answers for you but I do ask some very good questions!

I will be posting on Mondays. In my next blog I will write about habits.