ARTICLES
How Smart Women Take Risks
My husband and I recently attended our son’s back-to-school night at his new elementary school. The principal, Tami Weiser (a gifted leader, by the way) creates a theme for her teaching staff every fall. This year the theme is risk. Wow, I thought . . . risk. The word brings up both fear and excitement for me. I looked up risk in the dictionary and found this: The possibility of loss, or to take a chance. No wonder most of us feel a bit unsettled when faced with the possibility of risk. It’s exciting to take a chance but we could lose something in the process.
We’ve all heard “better safe than sorry.” But are we really better safe than sorry? Is there a goal, a dream, or something that you would like to accomplish but that you tend to put on the back burner when risk rears its ugly head? I always know when I’m about to take a risk. I can feel it from my head all the way down to my toes. My heart beats faster and my body temperature rises. I’ve taken quite a few risks in my life. I moved across the country to the West Coast in my early twenties without knowing anyone here. I started my own business when I was 29 and every banker laughed at me when I went in to apply for a business loan. But I couldn’t not take these risks. I had a big idea and knew – I just knew – that there would be a reward for taking the risks. It was the thought of playing it safe that really scared me. If I continued to play it safe, nothing in my life would change. Of course, risk comes with the possibility of failure and I’ve had my share of those. But every time I’ve taken a risk, whether it worked out in my favor or not, I’ve learned and gained experience that I could not have gotten any other way.
In my Women’s Learning Circles and private coaching, I am amazed over and over by the gifts and talents that women possess and how much the world is waiting for them to express those gifts and talents. The women I work with have big ideas and they’re doing the work to realize their dreams. They are ready and willing to take risks and do what is required in order to succeed in their chosen endeavors. What sets these women apart from the women who dream but don’t act? They’ve taken the time to get clear on what they want. They’ve made plans that they can successfully put into action. And they have the support of other women as they go about achieving their vision. And they’ve become willing to take risks.
A Women’s Learning Circle is a great place to plant the seed of an idea and watch it grow. It’s a supportive, confidential forum where you can consider your risks in a safe environment. A woman recently said to me, “I feel like I need to be doing something different, but I’m not sure what it is.” I hear variations on that comment all the time. As busy women with full lives, we too often put our “something different” aside in favor of taking care of those around us. We all have dreams and goals that tug at us. Whether it’s a business idea, a class we’d like to take, a new skill to learn, or a hobby or sport we’d like to delve into, we need to answer that tug. The world needs for us to respond and share our gifts. So what’s it going to be? You can play it safe or you can take a risk that could move your life in an entirely new direction. Let me know what you choose.
© 2007 Joy Chudacoff
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Joy Chudacoff is the founder of Smart Women Smart Solutions™ and a Certified Professional Coach. To read more articles by Joy and learn more about her Success Circle workshops and teleseminars, please visit her website, www.SmartWomenSolutions.com or contact Joy.