Bestselling author, Harvey Mackay, wrote an excellent column dealing with risk taking and regret. According to Mr. Mackay, people rarely regret taking risks; what they do regret is not taking them sooner or not taking them at all. He goes on to say, “Afraid to try something new? Most of us are. But our regrets will invariably be for what we didn’t do rather than for what we did.” Keep this in mind the next time you find yourself wavering over a decision on whether to take a risk. If you want to avoid feeling regretful, take the risk. As hockey great Wayne Gretzky put it, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
One Sentence Wisdom
- “Taking risks doesn’t mean shirking responsibility but embracing possibilities.” — Vick Hope
- “Living with fear stops us from taking risks, and if you don’t go out on the branch, you’re never going to get the best fruit.” — Sarah Parish
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Here’s another one: if you don’t do it, you’ll never know; or taking the risk is the only way you’ll know.
One more, If you have tried, and failed; at least you have tried.
Taking the risk, or stepping out of your comfort zone, is a lesson on its own. Even if you don’t succeed in its goal, you have learned something about yourself, and maybe, next time, you’ll succeed.