The Benefits of Taking Risks in Life: Embrace the Unknown for Greater Rewards
The Rugged face
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Choosing Risk Over Comfort: The Journey of Embracing the Unknown
If you’ve ever played the board game, Risk, then you understand that having the right strategy is essential to seeing the outcome you desire—to win. Each player carefully crafts their strategy that provides, in their mind, the winning formula. If your strategy proves successful, then after a few hours, you’ll reign victorious. However, there may be a few hiccups that prevent your strategy from overtaking your competitors. You may even lose in the end. You make moves. Variables are unknown. Sometimes you throw your strategy out of the window altogether. Just like in the game of Risk, we must make choices to pursue risk over comfort. In this post, I want to cover the benefits of taking risks in life.
The True Story of Our Colorado Dream
When we moved to Colorado, we had a very specific plan. We were going to buy land, build our dream, and live the rest of our lives there. Then God got involved.
We decided to move to Colorado in December of 2021. After we made the transition to Colorado in January of 2022, we built a community, enrolled our kids in school, and started building our dream. Unfortunately, we faced several trials that included only having income for 5 months of the year, my dad dying unexpectedly, and totaling our car among others.
We finally found an incredible community living authentically, enduring many of the same trials. Further, we had truly discovered the benefits of taking risks in life. Then, after 18 months, we moved back to Texas.
It was a shock to our systems to actually make the decision to move back to Texas. Our dream of building a ranch in Colorado seemed dead in the water. Did we fail? Were we giving up on our dream? Did we make the wrong decision? Time will tell, but what we discovered was that God’s plan is so much bigger than the plans we concoct in our minds.
Looking Back
When we look back on our time in Colorado, we can’t help but realize God had us there for a specific purpose. As I sit here and write this, we’ve been back in Texas for 3 months. Life is good right now. We absolutely miss the mountains, our friends we became so close to, and the adventure of pursuing hard things.
The funny thing though is that we’re still pursuing hard things…just from a distance. Our dream remains the same. We want to build The Rugged Face Ranch. The path to our dream is very different now though.
I think the biggest lesson we’ve learned is that it’s ok to make plans. It’s ok to pursue those plans, but when God calls us, we go. We obey our Father. Just like we did when we moved to Colorado. And just like we did when He called us back to Texas.
The Benefits of Taking Risks in Life
Risking to win means making decisions in the short-term that affect the long-term—for better or worse. Risk may end up exactly as you had originally anticipated. However, it may also wind up costing you something (or a lot). If there isn’t any cost to making a decision to risk, then it would simply be like putting a different shirt on in the morning. There’s no real consequence if you make the wrong decision.
On the other hand, when we choose to sacrifice one thing for another when it comes to our finances, lifestyle, where we live, what work we choose to do, even who we marry, we are making a decision to leave the familiar and venture into the unknown. Our lives will change. The comfort we once had will be no more. The relationships we cherished so much will be altered. We venture into the wild without a backpack full of supplies, a planned route to get to our destination, or a helicopter flying overhead to ensure our safety.
The Price of Risk
For every story about a successful risk, there are countless stories of those that paid a steep price in the pursuit of something different, something better. Again, we choose risk over comfort. These stories include Christopher McCandless, of the best-selling Jon Krakauer book, Into the Wild, and Scott Fischer and Rob Hall in their attempt to lead their clients to the summit of Everest in 1996 in Into Thin Air. They took a risk, and it cost them their lives.
Risk is never easy. Risk over comfort may end up as a complete and total failure. At the same time, risk may change your life. Risk may mean an end to that job you despise. It may lead to a better marriage or a better relationship with your kids. Risk may mean developing the lifestyle that you’ve been dreaming about for a decade. It will lead to a higher level of trust in the Lord.
Inspiring Quotes on Risk
- “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” — William Faulkner
- “God will never give you a dream that matches your budget. He’s not checking your bank account, He’s checking your faith.” — Mark Batterson
The Practical Side of Risk
Why Should You Take Risks?
When we think about taking risks, our minds often jump to the potential downsides. What if it doesn’t work out? What if I lose everything? Moreover, what if I regret my decision? These are valid concerns, but they only tell half the story. Here’s why embracing risk is essential:
- Growth and Learning: Every risk you take is an opportunity to learn something new about yourself and the world around you. Whether you succeed or fail, you gain valuable experience and insights that you wouldn’t have acquired by playing it safe.
- Building Resilience: Taking risks helps you develop mental and emotional resilience. By facing and overcoming challenges, you become stronger and more capable of handling whatever life throws your way.
- Uncovering Opportunities: Many of the best opportunities in life are found outside your comfort zone. By taking risks, you open yourself up to new possibilities and experiences that can lead to unexpected and rewarding outcomes.
- Achieving Greatness: Most of the world’s most successful people got where they are by taking calculated risks. They didn’t settle for mediocrity; they aimed for greatness and were willing to take the necessary risks to get there.
- Living Without Regret: Perhaps the most compelling reason to take risks is to avoid the regret of not having tried. As the saying goes, “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”
Practical Steps to Embrace Risk
- Start Small: Begin with minor risks, like trying a new hobby or taking on a challenging project at work. Small steps help build your confidence and prepare you for bigger challenges.
- Educate Yourself: Research and learn about the area where you want to take a risk. Knowledge reduces uncertainty and increases your chances of success.
- Build a Support System: Surround yourself with people who encourage and support your risk-taking journey. Having a strong network can provide emotional and practical assistance when you need it most.
- Pray and Reflect: Seek guidance and clarity through prayer, and reflect on your motives and goals. Understanding why you want to take a risk can help you stay focused and motivated.
- Prepare for Setbacks: Understand that failures are part of the journey and use them as learning opportunities. Develop a plan for how you’ll handle setbacks so they don’t derail your progress.
The Long-Term Benefits of Taking Risks in Life
Taking risks helps you develop the muscles and the mindset to take greater and greater risks. You begin to live open-handed and let God control all outcomes, and you learn how to steward what you’ve been given well.
Choosing to live in comfort is easy. Choosing better is hard. It takes time, money, faith, and perseverance. Risking your checking account to launch a business takes many months, if not years. The return on that risk, at the expense of comfort, may not be seen for a while. Risking your salary and benefits to pursue the decades-long dream will hurt for a season (possibly a long one). It’s worth it. Living with the consequences of the decision you made to risk is easier than dying with the regret that you chose not to do anything.
Real-Life Examples of Risk
Steve Jobs and Apple
Steve Jobs is a prime example of someone who took significant risks throughout his career. After being ousted from Apple, the company he co-founded, he didn’t give up. Instead, he founded NeXT and later acquired Pixar, which became a massive success. Eventually, Jobs returned to Apple, leading it to become one of the most valuable companies in the world. Jobs’s willingness to take risks and embrace failure was instrumental in his success.
J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling faced numerous rejections before the first Harry Potter book was published. Despite being a single mother living on welfare, she took the risk to continue writing and submitting her manuscript. Her perseverance paid off, and she became one of the best-selling authors in history. Rowling’s story is a testament to the power of risking comfort for a dream.
Elon Musk and SpaceX
Elon Musk risked nearly his entire fortune on SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. At one point, he was close to bankruptcy, but his determination and willingness to take risks paid off. Today, SpaceX is revolutionizing space travel, and Tesla is leading the electric vehicle market. Musk’s story highlights the importance of risk-taking in achieving groundbreaking success.
How to Develop a Risk-Taking Mindset
- Embrace Uncertainty: Accept that uncertainty is a natural part of life. Instead of fearing the unknown, see it as an opportunity for growth and discovery.
- Cultivate Resilience: Develop the ability to bounce back from setbacks. Resilience is crucial for anyone taking risks, as it helps you stay focused and motivated even when things don’t go as planned.
- Stay Curious: Maintain a curious mindset and always be willing to learn. Curiosity drives innovation and helps you see opportunities where others see obstacles.
- Practice Gratitude: Focus on the positive aspects of your life and be grateful for the opportunities you have. Gratitude helps you stay positive and motivated, even in the face of challenges.
- Take Action: The most important step in developing a risk-taking mindset is to take action. Don’t let fear or doubt hold you back. Start small, but keep moving forward.
Conclusion
Risk is never easy. Risk over comfort may end up as a complete and total failure. At the same time, risk may change your life. Risk may mean an end to that job you despise. It may lead to a better marriage or a better relationship with your kids. Risk may mean developing the lifestyle that you’ve been dreaming about for a decade. It will lead to a higher level of trust in the Lord.
Risk means that you have a chance to completely screw up something good. It may also mean eliminating the good and achieving the great. That’s why risk is worth it. Choosing to live in comfort is easy. Choosing better is hard. It takes time, money, faith, and perseverance. Risking your checking account to launch a business takes many months, if not years. The return on that risk, at the expense of comfort, may not be seen for a while. Risking your salary and benefits to pursue the decades-long dream will hurt for a season (possibly a long one). It’s worth it. Living with the consequences of the decision you made to risk is easier than dying with the regret that you chose not to do anything.
Choose risk over comfort, risk over average, and risk over the mundane. Embrace the unknown, trust in God’s plan, and pursue your dreams with courage and determination. In the end, it’s the risks we take that define our lives and lead us to greatness. So, choose to embrace the benefits of taking risks in life over the regret of living a safe, normal life.
About the Author
John Claborn
Hi! I’m John. Author of the post you just read. I like to write about all things adventure. Mostly things to help people live more adventurous lives and care for their families in a more meaningful way. By day, I’m a COO. By night, I’m a rad dad of 4 kids that I don’t deserve and a husband to a woman I can’t understand how I got. My goal is to show freedom to people through adventure and experiences.
