The Risk Is Worth It

Everyone has at least one big fear in their life.. and if not, props to you. Whether it is being afraid of heights, dark rooms, or clowns, the list goes on and on. Life and short and frankly, we do not have all of the time in the world to complete our goals and missions. If someone invited you to go skydiving or you were offered a free trip to some unknown land, would you go? Would you be the person to pass up the once in a lifetime opportunity or would you take it?

Many people would consider themselves people who never take risks, but think about it.. you are

taking risks every single day! It could be anything from riding in a car, eating a hamburger (mad cow disease, or even swimming in shark infested waters! We as humans are never thinking if driving down the road to your friends house could kill you, but matter in fact, it could. 

So why do we do all of these things every day even if we know it could be a risk to us? We can take a look at the rational risk assessment to ask ourselves why we are doing these things. The rational risk assessment is the idea that we should compare our best knowledge about the rates and probabilities of hazards and choose the least dangerous alternative. Risks are "facts" that can be measured, recorded, and evaluated.

This is a great way to gauge what we do and what we do not do as a society, but do we really need this? Why can't we just live our lives whether we are engaging and risky behaviors or not? Sometimes this risk assessment cannot be accurate since everyone does not live just for themselves. We have to think that there are people out there that are selfless and will risk their lives for others. There are people that are willing to give their lives up in order to protect someone else. 

When I think of my biggest fear, it is definitely snakes. Not only snakes in general, but getting bit by a snake. Little did I know, there are only 5-6 fatalities each year from being bit by a snake. Also, did you know that you are 9 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be bit by a snake? All of the sudden my fear of snakes has gone way down!

I think that we as humans should have somewhat of a conscious of how many risks we are taking in our lives, but at the end of the day if you haven't taken any risks you probably are living a very boring life! One choice you could make, could end up changing your life.. so just do it!

Here is an awesome motivational video about taking risks:

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/venomous_snake_faqs.shtml