Risk is a funny thing. Not ha-ha, but the other type. The one that’s hard to nail down.
Yet we talk about risk as if it’s concrete and absolute. When it’s not.
Your risk is not necessarily my risk, though there may be some overlap. And the difference is rarely due to a unique situation. Rather because our individual reactions are tempered by our current context and shaped by our past experience.
What makes us feel vulnerable and anxious will also be influenced by our personality and culture. This is even expressed in the kind of language we use around risk. Just listen…
What’s the opposite of risk? I suspect we would also have a range of answers about that too.
So what’s the point of this thought train?
The challenges and opportunities we face at this time of increased unpredictability require a greater level of empathy and courage than ever before. And we can’t express either if our own understanding of risk is too narrow or buried so deep it’s unreal.
Let’s search for the wisdom to know when to step out, when to step back and when to come alongside… and when to ask for help. Because it’s not always obvious.