Making a Change: Tips to Assess the Risk

At some point in our life, we are all forced to make decisions which make us uneasy. For many of us, these decisions happen on a daily basis.

Many of us do not handle change very well. We become comfortable in our routines. We know what to expect, and what is expected of us. Change, for many, is a huge source of anxiety and many of us are reluctant to give up our comforts to go after what we are really passionate about.

My husband and I are planners. No major decision is made without proper planning and analysis. We talk things through. We assess the benefits and the risks. Does this help us? For the most part it does not. Because after having analyzed something to death, we are still left with the decision as to whether or not we are going to take that risk and go for it.

On an emotional level, for a lot of people, taking risks and making big changes in our lives is very scary. Sometimes scary enough to the point where many people just refuse to take risks and instead live their lives without making many changes to it at all, even when presented with terrific opportunities. Is this the safer bet? Probably. Is living in fear of change a healthy way to live? Not so much. Change can be good, as long as we are able to muster up enough confidence to let it into our lives.

While it is impossible to predict an outcome, some honest evaluation and self-reflection beforehand making a change can help us more successfully manage our emotional fears.

Tips to Assess the Risks of Making a Change:

1. What are the possible benefits of making this change? What is the best possible scenario if we make this change? Make a list. Make it visual. Include as many criteria and with as much detail as possible. Even those criteria which seem mundane. We must consider the effects on our physical, psychological and financial health.
2. Look at the possible negative consequences of taking the risk. Again, make a list. We must consider the worst-case scenario, and then try to imagine if this is something we can live with.
3. Assess the balance between the positive and the negative outcomes. Is it the best possible scenario? Or the worst? Which is the most likely outcome? How much are we in control of the outcome? Is there any option for middle ground which would make us more comfortable in our decision-making?
4. How realistic are our fears? We must assess how we would counsel a friend who came to us for our input on the very same topic. How would we advise? What questions would we ask them? We must ask these of ourselves, and listen to our answers. Are the answers based on facts? Or fears? Often fears are not based on any real substance, yet they are so powerful in influencing the way we think and feel.
5. What does our intuition tell us? We often get a ‘gut feeling’ when faced with decisions which do not have automatic answers. Our intuition is very telling. Listen to it. We usually get a sense off the bat whether something is a good or bad idea. And more often than not, we are right. We must listen to this feeling, and learn to trust our instincts.

Well the expression nothing ventured, nothing gained, rings true here. Life would be pretty dull if we never took risks or if we never made any changes. Especially changes which could benefit us in the long term. And to think of all the opportunities we did not ever get the chance to experience merely because we were afraid.

We all have many regrets in life. We cannot let them be because we were too afraid to take a chance. By loading ourselves up with positivity, ample confidence and high levels of determination, we will ultimately maximize our chances for success.

Image: Clock by Salvatore Vuono for www.freedigitalphotos.net.