People who have no goals are decidedly not going to take many risks.

They just kind of live their lives and think it’s okay.

I used to be like that for a long time.

It is scary to take risks, and it would be hell to fail and go broke, and even your girlfriend, friends, and family might leave you.

So, yes.

Accepting risk is difficult and not easy.

But if you don’t accept the risk of anything, you can’t move forward in most things.

Why is it so hard to take risks even though we know this? And how can we accept risk and act with it on our side?

Today, I would like to talk about the benefits of accepting risk.

This is my personal experience and subjective viewpoint, so it may not apply to everyone. But if you are currently living your life avoiding risk, I hope it will be of some help to you.

This article is for:

• You want to know about risk.
• Those who are afraid of taking risks and making mistakes. Those who are not able to take risks.
• Those who want to try something new.

First of all, let me talk about risk.

In itself, risk is something that makes us better, not something bad.

However, there are two types of risk.

Two kinds of risk:

• good risk-taking
• bad risk-taking.

Let me begin with the bad risk-taking.

It is simply knowing that only bad things will happen by doing it.

Examples include smoking cigarettes and drinking too much alcohol.

[Example of a bad risk]

• You can’t stop smoking even though you know it’s bad for you.
• You keep drinking even though you know that drinking too much alcohol is affecting you the next day.
• Continuing to work at a job you hate.
• Driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Having sex with someone you don’t like.
• Spending time drinking and going to events with friends, But unfortunately, you don’t actually enjoy it with them.
• Scrolling through social networking sites and realizing it’s 2 a.m.
• You spend money on things you don’t think you need right now for some reason.
• You think you need something, but for some reason you don’t buy it.
• Not getting a good night’s sleep.
• All of these bad risk-taking behaviors risk having a negative impact on the body and brain.

Most people are unaware of the existence of the actions they are taking those big bad risks because they are taking them for pleasure, stress relief, or because they are unaware that they are risks, or they are small risks.

The truth is, we are taking bad risks without even knowing it.

Unfortunately, bad risks do not produce good results.

A good risk is one in which you are doing something that you don’t know what is going to happen, but by doing it, you may fail, but you may gain something.

To use an analogy.

Quitting your current job and starting a new business by yourself, or taking the risk of injury in acquiring the next skill in a sport, but still practicing or competing. Sports played in the natural world of ocean or mountain sports may be a risk of death.

[Example of a good risk]

• Sports, athletes and other athletes training or training beyond their limits.
• Quitting a company you dislike and starting a business from scratch.
• Traveling to an unfamiliar place.
• Investing, starting with a small amount even though you have never invested before and are completely clueless.
• Love, not knowing if you will be rejected by the person you love, but attacking anyway.
• Move to a new place.
• Try to order something on the menu that you don’t usually order.
• Go to a new bar where you have never been to socialize even if you don’t have friends there.

These good risks are things that you will fail and be sad, have bad experiences, or get hurt, but after you get over it, something wonderful awaits you.

If you don’t understand both sides of the equation, you will think that all risks are bad, and you will be extremely afraid to take risks.

Some people see things like moving house or making improvements (good risks) as bad risks.

This is because their brains are filled with anxiety.

I’m worried about moving and being able to interact with people I don’t know. What if my rent goes up? What if my furniture breaks when I move? We are afraid of things that haven’t happened yet, and we perceive them as bad risks.

However, it is only the person who perceives it as a bad risk.

Many such people, on the contrary, underestimate the fact that it is a small risk and assume that it is a low risk. Many people do not feel that smoking is a risk. In fact, they continue to take risks that reduce their motivation to live each day and harm their physical and mental health.

And for those who feel that small risks are not bad risks, there is another misconception. That is, many people consider the loss of money to be a big risk, such as managing investments or quitting a company to try something in business. But in reality, losing opportunity and time is the biggest risk of your life.

But they don’t realize that anyway and not taking action that does not involve health or personal growth is itself a big risk.

Indeed.

It is true that some people have lost their lives by taking good risks. Car Racers and any other professional athlete, for example, may die in accidents during competition or practice.

The stress on athletes is extraordinary. They need to perform well all the time, to compete, to earn money, to be honored, etc., but on the other hand, they are trying to find meaning in their lives and celebrate it by overcoming the fear of injury, losing, and other risks, and by enjoying the competition.

Not just in sports.

In any way of life, accepting risk and taking action is necessary to enjoy life.

There is much to be gained only by taking risks and taking action.

If you do not take risks and do not act, you will not gain anything.

When I was 27 years old, I was in a managerial position in a publicly traded company. At the time, I enjoyed the workplace and the relationships with my co-workers, but I felt like I was just living my life without any goals in life.

I felt that working, drinking, and making noise was the end of my life.

Then I traveled to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and a lot of other countries and realized that I was looking for a change. Then, someone who took a risk and left the company and had no English at all, also got an MBA and started a business in the US.

This was one of the many risks I took in my life.

As a result of accepting this one risk and acting on it, I received help from many people.

I received help from many people, was able to acquire English, which I thought was impossible at the time, and was able to live in the city of my dreams that I had seen on THE O.C. (an American TV show), and I got to date American women and even interact with people from various countries other than the U.S..

I was able to learn new things that were completely different from when I was in Japan.

Just by taking good risks and taking action, You can make a big change in your life.

The only thing left to do is to take a few steps at a time without letting fear get the best of you. I am a very optimistic person, so I do things on the spur of the moment and make a lot of mistakes.

Thanks to that, I have come to think that failure is not such a bad thing.

Let’s do more and more and fail more and more. Then you will be able to take more and more good risks. Failures accumulate, and they make you mentally strong. You will be able to think that no matter how big or small the problem is, you can handle it.

For wisdom on how to get rid of anxiety and worries in your brain and take on the challenge of taking risks, please refer to another article –How to Overcome Your Worries by Strengthening Your Mental Health-.

That is all.

In summary:

There are good risks and bad risks.

Bad risks are only bad things that happen, but good risks are failures, but if you continue to take advantage of them, you are sure to get results. (Proven with my experience).

And many of these failures will lead to a mentality that will not be daunted by even the slightest event.

By taking good risks, you will improve your life.

I want you to know that by taking good risks, you can improve your life.

You will be able to try things that you were afraid to try before, and you will be able to create that power in yourself.

And you can create the power to do it yourself.

I hope that you will consider what risks you have taken or not taken, and use this as wisdom to achieve your life goals in the future.

I, too, have a long way to go, so I will continue to take more and more good risks, make mistakes, and enjoy growing together with you all until I die.

Thank you for reading.

ZenJin