Understanding Risk

Children show us beautifully how humans mitigate risk as we interact with our environment.  They naturally know when it’s time to practice a skill vs. try a new one.  They take us by the hand to help them walk until they do it on their own.  They want to risk falling (and they do!); there is joy and aliveness through risk.

Our dominant culture has made risk seem “bad” and comfort seem “good” but they are both necessary to healthy growth for humans of all ages.  At times we need to be comfortable - it’s efficient and rest is important.  Equally important is risk. Risk can be physical, emotional or mental.  It can be trying a new sport, pushing our limits in an activity we already know, or being vulnerable in some way. It often involves putting ourselves out there and making the possibility of failure a possibility, which is scary.

In outdoor education we talk about risk through the lens of zones.  In the diagram below we see three circles. In the middle - comfort.  On the outside - danger. In the middle is healthy risk, the “zone of optimal performance”.  This is when our bodies and brains hum and we move forward with courage.  For me I feel risk when I’m running a hard class 3 rapid in my canoe or when I’m confronting a friend or person I care about.  I both crave risk and I can still try to avoid it at times. 

Our risk levels are always changing.  For me, they’ve changed as a mother; I’m less willing to take certain risks because if failure could mean significant injury or even death, I’m not interested anymore.  That being said, as a parent, there are many new emotional and mental risks that are abundant in my life.  

Let’s encourage risk in ourselves, partners, peers, colleagues, children.  It is healthy, it is human and it teaches us so much. What feels risky to you today?