Monday we began a discussion of risk taking. Today, let's look at why people choose not to take risks.
First and foremost, people don't take risks because they fear of failure. They don't take the chance to change their lives by doing things differently in their finances because they are convinced that they can't do it, and they don't like to fail. Well, let me just help you with this one. First of all, you can do it and you will fail at it! There, now doesn't that make you feel better? You don't have to worry about it or wonder about it...you are going to fail, probably multiple times. But you can do it, and what you want to learn is not to be afraid of the failure. You need to learn to welcome it instead. See, its not so much the failure as it is how you respond to it. When our kids fall off their bikes and scrape up a knee, what do we do? Do we put their bike away, tell them that they should never ride it again? Of course not! We pick them up, dust them off, encourage them to get back on that bike and try again! The same is true with your finances. When you first start living by a budget, you're going to fail. It's easy to say "well, that didn't work, guess I'll just scrap it and move on". But if instead, you'll pick up, dust off and try again, it will become easier and easier. You'll refine and revise, you'll begin to figure out what works for you and what doesn't, you'll get better and better at it. If you learn to "fail forward", as John Maxwell calls it, and allow your failure to propel you towards your desired goal, you'll never have to be afraid to fail again.
Secondly, people don't take risks because they don't want to make sacrifices. Getting free financially is not always easy, in fact, most of the time, it's pretty painful! You may have to learn to let go of your desire for immediate gratification, you may have to give up some of your favorite luxuries, you may have to choose live a simpler life than our "keep up with the Jones' " culture might dictate. But the good news is that if you do it well, your sacrifice will only be for a season. The really great things about seasons is that they come, and then they go. They aren't permanent. And letting go also opens up your hand to be able to receive as well...as long as your fist is closed tightly around things, nothing more can get into your hand!
Finally, people don't take risks because they are comfortable. Taking a risk involves getting out of your comfort zone, stepping out of the safe, comfortable box you operate in and exposing yourself. That doesn't sound like a lot of fun, does it? What does the mother eagle do to teach her young how to fly? She slowly begins pulling the soft, comfortable feathers out of the nest. Over time, the nest becomes so uncomfortable that the eaglets will eventually leave the nest and learn to fly on their own. We've said this before, but unless the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change, you will not move. People get comfortable in their financial situation. They've learned to get by, living paycheck to paycheck has become a way of life, and they've made a habit of juggling this debt to pay that one. While they would admit that it's not ideal, it is familiar! Risk may mean being uncomfortable, but familiarity breeds complacency. If we can learn to thrive on change and become accustomed to a little discomfort, we will keep ourselves sharp and will avoid becoming so comfortable that we will accept the mediocre in our finances.
