You’re probably too risk averse

Nabeel Qureshi wrote the article Principles to define what drives his life. As I continually work to define my own principles, I read his to see if there were any that fit what I was going for.

One of many that did was: “You’re probably too risk averse.”

This stuck out to me because I’ve recognized how much more careful I’ve become as I’ve gotten older. Even if I’ve chosen to take the risk, I regularly think more about the consequences if something was to go wrong.

This is neither a good nor a bad thing and varies per person. Especially if you are responsible for other people, something as simple as breaking a leg can prevent you from taking care of your loved ones.

However, most situations we are avoiding, won’t actually affect our lives, and in fact, we are far more resilient than we think. A principle attributed to the navy seals is the “40% rule” which states that when you are physically or emotionally exhausted, you are actually only 40% done. Meaning, you still have 60% left in the tank.

You needn’t scroll long on instagram or tik tok either to find someone doing something ridiculous like jumping off a moving car to get more views. Although that isn’t the type of risk I’m advocating for, stuff like this proves there is a lot we can get away with before we become irreparably damaged.

I think the root of risk aversion comes largely from our upbringing and the information we surround ourselves with. Our parents, although they mean well, increasingly try to keep us from getting hurt, the news, which I believe does not have our best interests at heart, exaggerates every event as if it’s the end of the world, and out of a desire to protect ourselves from repeated pain, we have developed many types of beliefs that define what in life is good and bad.

I recognize overcoming this risk aversion is incredibly difficult. Any time I address deep-rooted beliefs, I am fighting against years of work my previous self put in to foster them. But, this is where principles shine. By reviewing my principles daily, I am opening up the avenue to make consistent corrections that will lead to lasting change.

An example of how I’ve been trying to combat risk aversion in my own life is during skiing. On my recent trip to Norway, I was more intentional about overcoming my fears.

This looked like more off-piste skiing and faster descents. I fell more than I’m used to and I even accidentally ran into another guy as I sent it straight down a black diamond, but I left that trip feeling more confident in my skiing than I had ever been previously.

This idea carries over to emotional risks as well. Whether you need to practice being more vulnerable and authentic or you need to push yourself to ask that person out or ask your boss for that raise, risk plays a role in all areas of our lives.

Recognizing how it is affecting our decisions is the first step to combating it, and once we do that we are on our way to achieving what we truly want out of life.