What is risk and why is it something to fear, to avoid?
To risk is to be exposed to the possibility of loss or harm. Being risk averse is saying to yourself, “If I do this, I could lose something I value or something bad could happen to me. Better to stay where I am or take a safe route, follow the path of least resistance.” “Remaining stagnant sucks the life energy out of the creative person. Mass-producing safe, predictable work that will elicit familiar and expected responses is unsatisfying for an artist, a creative person in any endeavor, who longs to express his full potential.
“The thing is to do it, that’s what it’s all about. Not in the results of it. After all, what is a risk? It is a risk not to take risks. as a person who takes risks. However, there is something inside me that must cause controversy because I find it wherever I go. Anyone who cares about what he does takes a risk.” -Al Pacino
Risk involves opening up, being vulnerable, to change and growth. To take a risk is to remain centered in the truth of who you are, what you wish to express as your life purpose using the full potential of your unique gifts that are your birthright. Risking is having the ability to ignore your need for the approval of others in order to take the most appropriate action to achieve that expression.
Often this loss of approval is what people fear most. They would rather remain small, locked in the chains of conforming to others’ expectations, than shine the light on what their heart longs to express. But you have to take risks, because the greatest danger in life is not risking anything. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.
If you thought as a baby not to run the risk of falling, you would never have walked. You risked looking like a fool by laughing at what tickled your funny bone. You loved another person risking losing that love. You expose your feelings and expose yourself to criticism and rejection. You grew and evolved. Where you struggle is where you have contained your authentic expression.
The actors learned to tap into their own inner power and wisdom to take risks, go beyond the comfort zone of safety and expose themselves to criticism, falling out of favor with the audience and their peers to expose the range of emotions and feelings to bring truth to the character, to his role. The truth cannot be expressed without risk. Withholding the truth is falsely appearing in your life.
“I completely take the risk, the game of poker, what it means to be an artist, and I’m going to try to make a film that honestly reflects what’s on my mind.” – Antonio Banderas
To stay safe, people will find excuses and reasons (FEAR) not to take risks. These fears will be rooted in the following egoic needs:
1.Approval
2. To avoid blame
3. Being right
4. To avoid conflicts
5.To avoid liability
6. To avoid failure
7. Certainty
8. Expectations to meet
9. To remain safe in the status quo, negative or positive.
10. To affirm self-identifying beliefs, negative or positive.
“Actors are trusting souls, and we must go by instinct, even after our agents and business managers weigh all the odds.” -Anne Archer
Some people forget that risking is also opening up the possibility of a favorable outcome. Inspiration-based risks will always have a favorable outcome, even if that outcome is not realized right away. A failure can lead to new knowledge, a new awareness, which will create unprecedented success at a later date. Risk, or risk aversion, based on fear, will always have a negative outcome. Not venturing into the unknown will limit the discovery of new ideas, new approaches, new perspectives. Being creative is actively thinking nonlinearly and letting go of expectations while opening yourself up to new possibilities.
“It’s fun being on the edge. I think you do your best work when you take a risk, when you’re not sure, when you’re not in the middle of the road, at least for me, anyway.” -Danny DeVito
Only he who risks is free. Taking risks based on what comes from the heart rather than the egoic mind frees the creative person to explore beyond the limits of what is already known. For the inspired risk taker there are no limitations, no limits on what can be expressed, brought to the experience. Everything is possible.
“I’m a big believer in taking risks in life, because you’ll never get anywhere unless you do, and the bigger the risk, the bigger the outcome, or worse, but you never know, so you have to do it.” .” – Famke Janssen
Learning to see differently, learning to reach a new perspective, is the spark that ignites the creative spirit. The willingness to look through a new and different lens requires taking off the rose-colored glasses of safety. Allow yourself to break free from the chains of limitations imposed by others and by yourself through your own fearful inner critic working hard to keep you safe, right where you are now. Be willing to go beyond the convention and conformity of those who hold their own and try to prevent you from moving beyond the here and now and what has always been. Honor your authenticity, trust your intuition.
“I always took risks and never cared what the world might think of me.” – Darling
When you live life and approach your work inspired by your truth, you will always be safe. You will always feel fulfilled by this alignment with what you are here to express and your purpose in life. You will effortlessly invest in your creative potential and enjoy the ride, the thrill of a lifetime.
“Risk is really an essential part of being a creative person.” -Kevin Bacon
Copyright (c) 2009 Valery Satterwhite