No risk. No story.

A simple way to think about the role of risk in life.

‘Do something everyday that scares you.’ is an idea I always found a bit trite, a bit silly.

When my days aren’t going well, it’s not because I need more fear, it’s because I need less.

So I have always seen what was wrong with that idea, but not what might be right with it.

And what is right with it needs another well trodden notion:

‘You are either moving forward or you are moving backwards.’

That idea that if you aren’t actively moving forward, the world is moving around you, so you are actually going backwards.

It’s right because even if we aren’t aware of it, we need forward motion.

We know when we don’t have it, that stagnation, that feeling of just treading water. It is not pleasant, at least not for very long.

We need to feel some sense of growth, even if it is very small.

And the fuel behind that motion? Risk.

Risk - because it’s when we aren’t exactly sure if this is going to work.

It isn’t clear if we can pull it off.

But we step anyway.

Because to step into a little risk is to see a little more of what we could be.

That risk is what makes life interesting, for ourselves and for those looking in.

It is what gives the story you tell yourself energy, momentum and belief.

It’s what makes the story you weave to the world intriguing.

It makes you want to turn the page.

But how much risk does your story need?

It of course depends.

My sense that is in any given week, in any given project or ambition, you need some.

And that the risk must have a cause, it must have focus. It’s the difference between scaring yourself for the sake of it and trying something because it just might be the difference, it could be the thing that unlocks.

So, perhaps the answer is found by asking:

Have I taken any risks recently in the pursuit of my goals?

And then look for the root cause…

If I have, how did it feel after?

Keep those feeling close, they are what gives you the drive, the permission to do it again. To keep doing it.

If I haven’t, why not? And what could I have missed because I didn’t? What could I have become if I had?

This explores the cost of inaction, the consequences that flow to and from it.

And remember, that focused risk, it’s the engine of life, it’s what makes you and the world want to turn the page.