What’s Your Definition of Risk? (And Is it Holding You Back?)

What’s your definition of risk?

I’ve asked this of many people—some who are exceptionally successful, others who are still finding their way in life. For many people, the notion of risk pertains to failure. What if I take that difficult class and get a bad grade? What if I try out for the team and get cut? What if I leave my job to build my own company and I fail? What if I move from New York to LA and hate it? What if I leave my relationship and end up alone?

I look at risk differently. I assert that failure isn’t a risk—failure is a certainty. You will fail. Over and over again. The more you take on, the more challenges you face and opportunities you pursue, the more you’ll fail. In this sense, failure isn’t a risk, it’s a given. And even if you don’t avail yourself of opportunities, failure will still find you. Things won’t always work out, no matter what choices you make, or don’t make; no matter what roads you take, or don’t take. In life, failure is a constant.

So, how about considering a radical definition of risk? Instead of thinking of risk as, “What if something doesn’t work out,” think of it as, “What if it does work out and I’m not there.” In other words, the real risk is in not availing yourself of a chance or opportunity and, therefore, never realizing what’s possible. Risk is never giving yourself the shot to explore a better relationship if the one you’re in is less than gratifying. Risk is staying in a job that isn’t your true calling because you’re apprehensive about building that company you drew up on a napkin. Risk is staying in Chicago when you really want to live in sunny California. 

Risk is in the not doing.

This is an approach to risk that I’ve learned from several of the most professionally successful people I know. And to be clear, I’m not trying to trivialize the trepidation of pursuing something big and uncertain. I’m simply trying to clarify that trepidation or apprehension or nervousness are all different than risk. There’s far more risk than we realize in staying put, which is a decision. Every day that we wake up and decide to stay in the same job, city, or relationship, we’re making a decision; it may be the same decision that we made before, yet it’s still a decision. And making the same decision repeatedly does not make it a good decision—or a bad decision. Making the same decision is not necessarily less risky, even though it may feel that way. 

In a very real sense, there’s a risk in stasis, inertia, and complacency. There’s a risk in not taking action, in not taking a new pathway.

Think about it for a moment: What assurances do you have that things in your current job will continue to progress on your preferred trajectory? It’s not so bad, you may say. You may be making an implicit bet on something that isn’t so bad today, but that may not have great prospects for fulfillment in the future. What if you can find a better trajectory elsewhere? Are you avoiding risk? Or are you really avoiding the fear of the unknown? Are you making a smart choice? Or are you merely choosing comfort?

In life, no matter what choices you make, you’ll encounter two things: challenges and opportunities. There is no incremental risk of confronting challenges by making a change—those challenges will be there either way. Yet what is the risk of never pursuing your professional dreams? What is the risk of never allowing yourself the opportunity to meet the right person? What is the risk of living in a place that doesn’t inspire you when the options for more suitable places are plentiful? 

“What if I fail,” you ask? I would counter with a different question: What if you succeed? What if your business works out? What if—through hard work, perseverance, passion, and commitment—you find a way to create some measure of success doing what you love? What if you take the risk to meet people who connect with you, and find that special person? What is the risk of never allowing yourself these types of opportunities?

When we think of risk, we all too often think about the consequences of actions taken, not the consequences of actions not taken. If your goal is to achieve greater success—whether at work, in relationships, or in life—I encourage you to embrace a new framework for risk. At the end of the day, it’s our choices that make us who we are. Taking risks and pushing boundaries is a critical step in living a meaningful life. Ask yourself, what if it could work out but I never gave it a shot? What if I could be happier, healthier, or more fulfilled, but I didn’t make the change? What if I miss out on a life-altering opportunity?

Those are the real risks in life.