Free Taking Risks is Important for Personal Growth Essay Sample
We have all been told by our parents or guardians at one stage in our lives that life is not easy. It is not easy for a child to see this materializing especially since as a child one does not have to work for money or worry about bills. A child only has to worry about his next game and the next birthday party that he is to attend. Life at this stage is therefore not hard at all thus the warning from the parents has not taken root. With the passage of time, this warning hits one hard in the face like a boxer’s glove when it starts to materialize and with it comes the issue of taking risks in order to get through some tough situations that life throws at us.
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In school one is introduced to the very first of many instances when risk taking becomes necessary. It may not be the kind of risk that will necessitate police intervention but rather it is the kind that makes one start to see the world in a different kind of way. For example, one may have been given a lot of school work to study before sitting a major test. They may also have had football practice and in the confusion, the practice sessions may overwhelm the class work. During the test one may therefore find that they are not well prepared and thus may engage in some sort of cheating so as to pass the test. This is a form of risk taking since the person is aware that once they are caught, the consequences may lead to their expulsion from the school. This is how some of the students find themselves losing track in school since they may think they are above the law once they cheat a couple of times without getting caught. Eventually this may lead to more severe crimes in school committed as a result of taking bigger risks by those who find themselves addicted to the vice.
Positive risk taking in school may be in terms of taking extra subjects in class that one may not even be sure that they will manage. Most students play it safe but some will take on the extra subjects and push themselves to make more tie for studies thus in the end, they will have covered more work within a shorter period of time. Once a student sees that they can do it, they will keep pushing and challenging themselves in class and eventually they will end up at the top of their class having covered more than their colleagues who chose to stay within the stipulated class subjects. This is why there is an increase in the number of younger students seeking for post-graduate studies than ever before, thanks to their initiative to take a risk in class.
Most people stay in the same job for a really long time and eventually they get comfortable. This leads to their stagnation at this jobs and stagnation in their salaries and personal developments. Other people look at the big picture and realize at some point that they want to move in the career ladder and thus take the risk of signing up for classes at their spare time to increase their knowledge and professional worth at the work place. While their colleagues drive home to rest and sit in front of their televisions, they drive to school and take in two or more hours of a professional course that is tailored to make them rise through the career ladder. Eventually his risk of being away from their families pays off when the promotion comes and with it comes a pay rise, better terms and even allowances. It is thus better to strain for a couple of years when others are watching their televisions because eventually one will be able to finally relax in a proper holiday paid for by their own well deserving pay rise.
Some jobs can by themselves restrain a person from reaching their full potential if they do not take any risks. One may have had the dream of working in the hospitality sector since their childhood and even have the passion to cook and make culinary masterpieces. They pursue an education a leading to their employment in the hotel as they had wanted. Over time one may realize that the job is no longer as fulfilling as they may like it to be. This can lead one to take on one of two choices, play it safe and stay or take a risk and start their own business. By taking a risk, one has the chance to still do what they like but in their personal terms. Opening a catering business will still make one to cook as they wanted while at the same time enabling them to choose their working hours and the type of contracts they would want to take up thus would put them in a better place than if they remained employed at a hotel setup. The chances and prospects for growth are higher when one is self employed because one is in control of their time and resources than when employed.
Conclusion
The thing about taking risks is that they can either be for the purpose of having positive or negative outcomes. Those that will lead to a negative outcome should be avoided like the plague since they are only out to destroy the lives of people. People are aware of the importance of taking risks but are afraid of being different from their colleagues. Someone may comfortably choose to remain in a job they do not like just to be like their class mates who are all employed rather than risk resigning and starting their own business which they well know they would excel at. There is also the fact that most people get comfortable at what is conventional and rely on the comfort of being employed and the security afforded by knowing that they will get their pay check at the end of the month. MacCrimmon has expressed this concern since it puts many potential entrepreneurs at the mercy of employment thus disabling their potential to take a risk in search of their personal growth. It should not be noted at all levels that the people we see excelling in their businesses or whatever fields today, at some point in time took the initiative to seek out the unconventional route in search for their personal growth and full potential.