WOW Word-Of-the-Week #310: Risk

July 7, 2010 by  

White Water Rafting

Risky Rafting

Risk – the possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger.

Would you consider yourself to be someone who takes risks? Do you experience a thrill when things get a little dangerous? Do you tend to err on the side of caution?

In the last two weeks the media has been filled with the story on Abby Sunderland. I admit it got my attention. And I know my first thought was, “Why on earth would anybody want to sail around the world by themselves, let alone do it at the age of sixteen?”

An Associated Press article wrote, “She faced down moments of terror on the high seas when her boat was rolled over by a rogue wave. Still, the 16-year-old was proud of her effort, hoped it might inspire others and wasn’t ready to abandon sailing.”

Abby said, “I knew when I headed out for this trip that I was going to be testing myself, and I was going to have to push myself to the limits. You get scared and then you have to get over it because being scared, it doesn’t do anything good. It just makes you hesitate and makes more problems start coming.”

She went on to say, “Every sailor knows there is risk in trying to sail around the world. I’m living proof that that things don’t always work out the way you plan, but you can only plan so far in an adventure. You can reduce risk but you can never completely eliminate it.”

WOW! How many 16-year-olds do you know that are that mature? How about adults? This week focus on how you feel about risk. How much are you willing to take on? Are you willing to not be scared? Can you accept that as much as you may plan, you can never completely eliminate risk?

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