Was that a man... beginning to run across the 390? Instantaneously, I realized the the truck ahead of me was screeching to a halt. I slammed on my brakes, hoping I would not run into the truck... Luckily the car stopped with not a yard to spare.
Surprisingly, the man dashed back to his car with a ladder. Why would someone rush out into speeding traffic on two lanes of a four lane highway to rescue a ladder? We'll never know.
Some leaders take financial risks - venture forth to open a new business, or perhaps leave a solid job to pursue another. Many risk opening doors to opportunity and change. Leaders step up to these challenges to gain the rewards.
Interestingly, some "people are more turned off by losses than they are turned on by gains," according to Craig Fox's research findings. Reward centers in our brain "turn on," not only when we make decisions about potential rewards, but also "turn off" when we think about losing money or whatever it is that we risk.
To take a risk then, involves pushing against fear and hesitation we may encounter to step out. Calculating risks helps to set the pace.
3 comments:
Hi Robyn, It's pretty typical in marketing that avoiding pain is a stronger motivator than achieving gain. Perhaps this is why many people back off bold decisions the longer they think about them. The more you agonize over a decision, the more tangible the risk becomes.
@ChrisLAtkinson Thanks for your thumbs up on Thought and Risk: <span><span><span>http://bit.ly/cf8DJQ</span></span></span>
Brad, if we go into overthinking mode, we've already defeated ourselves. Some of the brain research shows that if we give our brain time to "sleep on it," we can make the best decsion for ourselves. Second guessing just does not work for me either. We'd not reach all that we are capable of in life.
Thanks for pointing this out. As the man rushed out on the highway, I wondered, too, if he might be acting heroically to get the ladder so that it would not cause an accident for others. That is another possibility. :)
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