A serious conflict can occur if you are a risk-oriented person operating in a risk-averse environment. It can be confining and, among other things, boredom may occur. I have felt this way at various points in my life; and when I did, it was accompanied by feelings of slow to no growth and/or not fully utilizing my potential. I have found this to be true for others i.e., family members, clients, coworkers, and community leaders as well. Although, this sometimes occurs, it does not have to be the case. A solution can often be found in becoming more comfortable taking risks and accepting unexpected results. A quote that sheds light on this is by C.S. Lewis, “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”
Becoming comfortable with risk-taking and potential failure is possible, but will take work. We must first determine our personality regarding the various measures of risk-taking and accepting possible outcomes. Our personalities are developed over a period of years and related to experiences that have occurred throughout our lives. These situations often result in subconscious mental conditioning. An example of this is a child being told “no”, not to touch a stove. This could recur as a virtual voice replaying the scenario in their heads when they reach adulthood. They end up “playing it safe” in various situations that are unrelated to the stove. Another example is if someone was fired from a job or reprimanded at work for making a mistake. This could result in the individual “playing it safe” in the future in an effort to avoid a similar experience. As a result, very little growth if any may take place and their potential may be not fulfilled.
Connecting with a coach and getting feedback on behavior may help begin the process of identifying conditioning and setting goals to break it. This can be accompanied by enrolling in a program that offers the opportunity for assessments and a development process occurring over a period of weeks or months. A strong process is one, which includes goal setting and action step components. As you make progress, your confidence will build, and you will find yourself taking more risks. You may also become more accepting of decisions or actions that result in a lack of success in situations involving yourself or others. Ultimately, personal fulfillment and growth will occur as you shift to a mindset of accepting and learning from experiences that go well and from those that do not.
