Coaching Tip No.14 - Should I or Shouldn’t I?
04/02/09 10:28 Filed in: Coaching
Tips |
Risk
“There are risks and costs to a program of
action. But they are far less than the long-range
risks and costs of comfortable inaction”
John F Kennedy
What a strange world we live in. On the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s ‘Origin of the Species’ our understanding of evolution is so much more advanced. What is still confusing is how we have managed to develop a society where, in order to perform at the highest levels, we have to work against the biology, neurology and psychology that evolution determined for us.
I can’t remember how I came across it but Seth Godin published an insightful article (FAST Company Magazine 2003) which is just as relevant today. The article was called “A Brief History of Hard Work, Adjusted for Risk” In the piece he contrasts the hard, physical labour our many of our forebears endured with the modern workplace - and a very different type of hard work that this quote demonstrates:
John F Kennedy
What a strange world we live in. On the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s ‘Origin of the Species’ our understanding of evolution is so much more advanced. What is still confusing is how we have managed to develop a society where, in order to perform at the highest levels, we have to work against the biology, neurology and psychology that evolution determined for us.
I can’t remember how I came across it but Seth Godin published an insightful article (FAST Company Magazine 2003) which is just as relevant today. The article was called “A Brief History of Hard Work, Adjusted for Risk” In the piece he contrasts the hard, physical labour our many of our forebears endured with the modern workplace - and a very different type of hard work that this quote demonstrates:
“Hard work is
about risk. It begins when you deal with the things
that you'd rather not deal with: fear of failure,
fear of standing out, fear of rejection. Hard work is
about training yourself to leap over this barrier,
tunnel under that barrier, drive through the other
barrier. And, after you've done that, to do it again
the next day.”
In risk research there is a concept called ‘risk homeostasis’. The concept behind this is that everyone has a level of risk they're happy with, which they try to maintain. This has interesting consequences, e.g because of driving aids such as ABS and anti-skid control, people feel safer and therefore drive more quickly in slippery conditions than they used to!
Humans are not good at assessing risk. Crashing in a motor vehicle is a one in 7100 chance; crashing in an aircraft one in 3.1 Million. Most people think nothing about going in a car, yet plenty of people won't go in a plane. People in the UK fear spiders and public speaking more than death!
Risk for humans is mostly about perceptions and very little about reality so this exercise is about taking a reality check and reassessing risk versus reward.
Take a moment and consider if there are any actions you could take that will be of benefit to you but you have either been putting off or have deemed too risky.
- Pick the one that you perceive would bring the biggest benefits (which may also be the riskiest!).
Using a piece of paper, write down the answers to these questions:
What is your perceived risk or potential pain from taking this action?
What will you get/have if taking this action is successful?
What will you have of you don't take this action?
What will you not have if taking this action is successful?
What will you not have if you don't take this action?
Going through this process should bring clarity around the risks and the benefits, what you can gain and what you may lose which leaves you in a better position to choose well.
This is a great process to testing any goal or objective as we rarely look at things from all these angles at once.
In risk research there is a concept called ‘risk homeostasis’. The concept behind this is that everyone has a level of risk they're happy with, which they try to maintain. This has interesting consequences, e.g because of driving aids such as ABS and anti-skid control, people feel safer and therefore drive more quickly in slippery conditions than they used to!
Humans are not good at assessing risk. Crashing in a motor vehicle is a one in 7100 chance; crashing in an aircraft one in 3.1 Million. Most people think nothing about going in a car, yet plenty of people won't go in a plane. People in the UK fear spiders and public speaking more than death!
Risk for humans is mostly about perceptions and very little about reality so this exercise is about taking a reality check and reassessing risk versus reward.
Take a moment and consider if there are any actions you could take that will be of benefit to you but you have either been putting off or have deemed too risky.
- Pick the one that you perceive would bring the biggest benefits (which may also be the riskiest!).
Using a piece of paper, write down the answers to these questions:
What is your perceived risk or potential pain from taking this action?
What will you get/have if taking this action is successful?
What will you have of you don't take this action?
What will you not have if taking this action is successful?
What will you not have if you don't take this action?
Going through this process should bring clarity around the risks and the benefits, what you can gain and what you may lose which leaves you in a better position to choose well.
This is a great process to testing any goal or objective as we rarely look at things from all these angles at once.