This post, I wanted to focus on risk taking. Why? Because for a long time, it has been said 
that women are risk adverse; that women don’t like to take the leap of faith or believe anything good will come out of it. I disagree wholeheartedly.
I believe that women can, do and will take risks; calculated thought out risks. Unlike our male counterparts, we are generally more likely to weigh up the pros and cons fully and that’s not a bad thing. However, what must be avoided is the overthinking or allowing the weighing up to take so much time it leads to procrastination.
Why is risk-taking worth doing? In my experience when I’ve taken a risk – usually because an opportunity has arisen and I see its potential but I might not be in the best place or have the necessary resources to hand to action it – it has led to something greater. Quite often it has been a financially associated risk and those type of risks can bring up all manner of fear, depending on your relationship with money. Yet focusing on the benefits of the potential outcome has allowed me to ‘do it anyway’ whilst also preparing myself to manage any fallout.
In business risk taking is part of the journey… and so it is in life. It’s hard to avoid.
We often avoid taking risks because:
- We overestimate what might go wrong and the consequences it will bring about
- We underestimate our ability to deal with what goes wrong
- We forget to assess the consequences of not taking the risk; what we will miss out on, the growth opportunity, etc
When we do take risks we can often:
- Discover otherwise hidden opportunities
- Develop our confidence and decision-making skills
- Learn new lessons from our mistakes and successes
- Begin to overcome fear of failure
So when you are faced with risk-taking situations, ask yourself the type of questions that will guide you to appropriate action:
- What are the benefits of taking this on?
- What is the worst-case scenario of taking this on?
- If I ignore this opportunity, what will that inaction cost me one month/year from now?
- Where is my fear of failure stopping me from pursuing this; am I overestimating the risk, underestimating my ability or focusing on an exaggerated worst outcome?
Don’t shy away from taking risks; they are an essential element in creating the success you want in your life. Providing they are calculated and not ‘risks for risk’s sake’, they are likely to serve you well and move you towards achieving your goals.
Embrace the risks & live blissfully,
YvonneB
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Published by YvonneB
A catalyst for change, Yvonne Bignall is a breath of fresh air in the extraordinary way she helps women 50+ to reconnect with life & their innate power through radical self-care, guilt-free!
She supports, encourages, and inspires women to prioritise their health, one bitesize action at a time. Her work is challenging as it navigates through difficult conversations, listening & observing how women’s health issues have been:
❊ Undermined
❊ Under-resourced &
❊ Swept under the carpet
She helps women to recognise & unpack old scripts that still (sadly enough) tell them that their value derives from their level of caregiving of others, their output. The truth is it is the input, the ability to resource self, which provides women with the energy required to realise their true potential.
Along with her team, she explores the thoughts, behaviour & habits, often born out of guilt, gender expectations, and reinforced narratives, with curiosity (not judgment), discarding the unhelpful, whilst reclaiming innate power through the creation of new patterns, restoring a sense of self, outside of societal expectations. In her opinion, this allows women to:
✔ Develop an elevated level of self-awareness
✔ Build / rebuild their confidence & self-belief
✔ Value all of who they are and invest time in who they want to be at their best
A self-care warrior, an encourager & inspirer, Yvonne is today an award-winning Women’s Health Advocate, Published Author, and an International Presenter. She is also a Radio Show Host and a Podcaster.
Yvonne is focused on building a community of women, www.PermissionToThrive.online, who are ready to reclaim their right to self-care, guilt-free, and who prioritise their health without apology, role-modeling behaviour & habits that inform generations to come of their true value.
She also advocates for self-care over burnout in the workplace, delivering practical webinars in the corporate space. In her own words, “It is time for employees to prioritise their wellbeing. How will they deliver their best work without it?”
One of her favourite quotes comes from Eleanor Brown, ‘Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel’
Connect with Yvonne and,
🌱 Become part of the self-care revolution at Permission to Thrive or
📞 Book a chat to find out about her coaching and corporate services: https://calendly.com/yvonne-b/20min
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Being Your Best You 