Are YOU Risk Averse?

Sunday, 29 September 2013

📷 View from my Balcony

It’s Sunday afternoon and I'm basking in some sunshine on the balcony in my new flat, in London, finally connected to the internet and loving that even though it is Autumn , the crisp airy breeze, still green trees, warm sun and glistening river view is just the inspiration I need to get back down to a new blog post.

Today’s thought is about being  Risk Averse.

What is that exactly?  Simply put, it’s your preference over certainty and uncertainty. 

Still don’t get it? Let’s just say that as a child you grew up where money was a problem, naturally in adult life and beyond you would be more conservative with your cash. However, your children may not be.

Risk averse people generally put excessive weight on things going wrong. Out of fear/bad experiences/just to be ‘safe’.

 But where does one draw the line between being too risk averse and being too foolishly risky?.

Life isn't black and white, (if you’re thinking pattern is that way inclined I would love for you to get in touch. Seriously!).

There is really no need to panic. That gets you nowhere. Objectivity does. We don’t have control of external factors but can do our best to cover all grounds. I read a post on Harvard Business Review some time back on how being too Risk averse could be dangerous. Generally people are not that happy about taking risks and goes on to talk about how the fear of losing $10 for example, could be more stressful than making an additional $10.The bottom line? We all have different ‘Risk Profiles’ so in a working team, it’s good to open the lines of communication and keep each other balanced and avoid all irrationality. Ego stays out the door and a dynamic approach to viewing risk can be just the balance the team needs.

Essentially, if you think about it, in any situation you may be in.  Are you stopping yourself from perusing that goal out of the slight off chance of failure which is stopping you doing something GREAT?

Think about it.  

Just for fun: A few things I Love about London so far.  People who frantically press the button to open the door BEFORE the train has even stopped. (Makes me laugh every time) The buzz you feel/see when you walk into big stations like Waterloo. Pop up shops.London Markets.The DLR. Thinking the TTC & RT ( tube map of Toronto) was intimidating when I first moved there. 📷 until I saw TFL (London’s tube map)  But really , it’s not even HARD. 📷 and finally.. 6.Still getting excited when I see things like this.. 📷