When one wants to motivate others, one must RISK. Risk reaching out, risk looking foolish, risk your pride, and sometimes even your friendship. The amount of risk you take is often dependent upon your previous experience in the “risk” area and your perception of how risky the activity could be. Risk levels run from High to Low.
To look at your “risk perception”, think about the degree of risk for you involved in the following activities:
1) Skydiving 2) Brushing your teeth 3) Driving in a rainstorm
2) Mountain climbing 5) Telling a friend “I love you” 6) Scuba diving
3) Speaking in front of people 8) Going into the hospital
For experienced skydivers, the degree of risk is much lower than someone who hates heights. Someone who has bad teeth may rate brushing somewhat risky.
ATTENTION: Risk = Experience + Perception
One way to deal with risky situations is to reduce the perception. Ask yourself “What is the best that could happen? What is the worst? Can I live with those possible outcomes?” To be a leader, you must serve as a role model for others and be willing to take a certain amount of risk.
Risk taking is free—To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feeling is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But the risk must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they simply cannot learn, feel change, grow, love, and live. Chained by their want for security, they are slaves forfeiting freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free!
From Michael A. DeRosa, Jr., Director of Student Activities, Florida Institute of Technology