Eternal Sunshine Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I am surprised that I am seen by my family as a "risk taker" on the high end of that scale too. In my opinion I am about average when it comes to risk. I see risk takers as people that are adrenaline junkies: jumping out of airplanes and doing extreme sports. I do none of that. Their examples of my risk taking is: -Traveling to the third world countries alone -Walking home from a train station alone after midnight (keep in mind that it's a low crime neighbourhood) -Not taking malaria tablets when I had a minimal risk of being exposed to malaria -Swimming at the beach where there were shark attacks (like 1 documented attack on some surfer years ago). I see those things as just living my life and not going through it being afraid of everything and wrapped in a cotton wool. Thoughts? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
anne1707 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 There is nothing in what you have done which would make me think of you as a risk taker. I have done all those too with the exception of travelling to a 3rd world country alone (I was with Wuggle) and I have also done a few extreme sports activities but I don't feel that makes me particularly open to risk. It just makes me open to enjoying life. Link to post Share on other sites
learning_slowly Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Is it riskier to have not done those things which are considered risky, and live in regret? Link to post Share on other sites
Candy_Pants Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Those things all seem pretty normal to me. You must have some 'fraidy cats in your family!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
learning_slowly Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Yes but it's all down to peoples perceptions. I saw a program where Ivana Trump was crying because somebody had turned down an invite to her charity event. It was a big deal to her because she had none of the minor worries that normal people possess. I do parachute jumps and it's for the accomplishment as well as the thrill. Link to post Share on other sites
Shepp Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Its perception isn't it! I guess some people would look at me on paper - firefighter, mountain biker, boxer...but my girlfriend would find that hilarious cause shes the big genuine risk taker, she has to either drag me into doing actual risky things or i'm saving her from doing stupid things. Link to post Share on other sites
lucy_in_disguise Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Interesting thread! Sometimes, people miscalculate the risk involved in certain acts. For example, swimming in a beach with a documented shark attack- I don't know much about sharks, but there's a good chance it was safer for you to be in that water than crossing the street on your way to the mall. I don't see you undertaking an enormous amount of risk based on the activities you've listed. In terms of my own risk profile, I tend to think of it in terms of what I am willing to give up for the unknown where there is a chance of greater reward. Which apparently is not much. I guess I tend to prefer stable returns over the opportunity at greatness. For example- I've been at my job for 7 years. I have considered seeking out more rewarding opportunities, but because my job is just good enough, I am not willing to risk ending up somewhere worse. I settle when it comes to relationships- for men who would make reasonable fathers and husbands, even if fireworks are missing from the equation. It's good to understand your risk profile and how it impacts your decisions. I would caution becoming like me, though- focused on the downside, not the potential rewards. Link to post Share on other sites
LustAppeal Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 "Take a risk when you're young, tell stories when you're old." I live by that sentence. Ofcourse I'm not jumping off mountains or joining a legion, but I've made it my life long goal to be able to look at my grandkids and tell them stories they'd be proud to tell friends, or at least to set the example on how to live their life. For the past five years I've been working this goal hard, I traveled across Europe, I joined and instructed military courses, I snowboarded in the Rockies, went extreme downhill biking, got my butt handed to me doing kungfu and jujitsu, organized huge drinking events, helped many friend with dating problems, and sooo much more! Now I have a careerpath, a girlfriend, and the thought of a family starting to set in. I'm 21, and I've never been more excited for what happens next. Link to post Share on other sites
mea_M Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I am surprised that I am seen by my family as a "risk taker" on the high end of that scale too. In my opinion I am about average when it comes to risk. I see risk takers as people that are adrenaline junkies: jumping out of airplanes and doing extreme sports. I do none of that. Their examples of my risk taking is: -Traveling to the third world countries alone -Walking home from a train station alone after midnight (keep in mind that it's a low crime neighbourhood) -Not taking malaria tablets when I had a minimal risk of being exposed to malaria -Swimming at the beach where there were shark attacks (like 1 documented attack on some surfer years ago). I see those things as just living my life and not going through it being afraid of everything and wrapped in a cotton wool. Thoughts? What's wrong with the way you choose to live? Absolutely nothing. We all have our likes and dislikes. Keep living the way that makes you happy. Mea :-) Link to post Share on other sites
mammasita Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 My mom thinks going to the ATM after dark and eating foods high in saturated fat are risks. Therefore ES, like you, I am a risk taker - I live life on the edge. I drive 5-7MPH over the speed limit. I take seasoning salt from restaurants. I go to the ATM at night - contrary to my moms pleas not to. I eat french fries and dip them in mayo. This is why I have high levels of anxiety Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Bonnie Parker was a risk taker. The guy who spends his kids grocery money on his next greatest sure to hit idea is a risk taker. People who routinely imperil their lives in pursuit of 'fun' are risk takers. During my career, this was a risk-taker. Comparatively, I was risk-averse. Huge difference. We called them men with balls of steel. The rest of us were merely mortal. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
FitChick Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I am a risk taker - I live life on the edge. I drive 5-7MPH over the speed limit. I take seasoning salt from restaurants. You are not a risk taker. You are a criminal! Link to post Share on other sites
KathyM Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I am surprised that I am seen by my family as a "risk taker" on the high end of that scale too. In my opinion I am about average when it comes to risk. I see risk takers as people that are adrenaline junkies: jumping out of airplanes and doing extreme sports. I do none of that. Their examples of my risk taking is: -Traveling to the third world countries alone -Walking home from a train station alone after midnight (keep in mind that it's a low crime neighbourhood) -Not taking malaria tablets when I had a minimal risk of being exposed to malaria -Swimming at the beach where there were shark attacks (like 1 documented attack on some surfer years ago). I see those things as just living my life and not going through it being afraid of everything and wrapped in a cotton wool. Thoughts? I think people should weigh the risks and consider that they have validity, and not dismiss them. It's easy to dismiss them when nothing bad has happened to them, but too late when something bad does happen. Traveling to certain countries alone as a young single woman is probably not a good plan. Better and safer to have a traveling companion, and exercising some precautions. Walking alone home from the train station after midnight. Not a good plan. Lots of women victimized this way. Not worth the risk. I also personally know a man who developed malaria when traveling to a third world country. Don't think it can't happen to you. My son went to school with someone who was killed by a shark. He also went to school with someone who was killed by a train because the person took unnecessary risks. Not worth it. I and my family engage in extreme sports, so we are not risk aversive, but some things just don't make sense to do, such as walking alone late at night, or swimming in shark infested waters. Of course, if the shark attack was years ago, the risk would not be high, but if the area was frequented by sharks, probably not a good plan to take the risk. I'm a strong believer in minimizing risks without hindering quality of life. Link to post Share on other sites
EasyHeart Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I always distinguish between gambling and risk-taking. Risk-taking means being able to analyze and weighing probabilities. Gambling is taking a risk without weighing the probabilities. So for example, let's say you've always wanted to go skydiving: If you think, "Woo-hoo! Jumping out of a plane is cool!!!" that's gambling. If you think, "I've taken classes on how to skydive, spent hours practicing the things the could go wrong and thoroughly researched the safety record of the company that I'm using and I have determined that jumping out of a plane has a low probability of resulting in an injury to myself" that's risk-taking. It's similar to the old line about the difference between arrogance and confidence: "Confidence is believing you can win. Arrogance is believing you can't lose." Link to post Share on other sites
Babolat Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I am surprised that I am seen by my family as a "risk taker" on the high end of that scale too. In my opinion I am about average when it comes to risk. I see risk takers as people that are adrenaline junkies: jumping out of airplanes and doing extreme sports. I do none of that. Their examples of my risk taking is: -Traveling to the third world countries alone -Walking home from a train station alone after midnight (keep in mind that it's a low crime neighbourhood) -Not taking malaria tablets when I had a minimal risk of being exposed to malaria -Swimming at the beach where there were shark attacks (like 1 documented attack on some surfer years ago). I see those things as just living my life and not going through it being afraid of everything and wrapped in a cotton wool. Thoughts? I see them as just living your life too, not really tking risks. One might say you are not "safe" in the above examples, but I would not say you are taking a risk. I took a risk when I was 32 and changed careers, and gave up 80% of my compensation. I did it because I was bored with my current carreer and loved my new career. The risk, in my opinion, was never getting that 80% compensation back and also falling on my face in the new career. I did not fall on my face and I got the compensation back, times 3, in less than 5 years. It's also a risk to not wear a condom, I have done it thought based on trust. Link to post Share on other sites
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