There was no consideration of or even an awareness of risk so I agree that it was a in fact a chance – an unthinking leap into what occurred as a fun, exciting adventure with no consideration for the potential danger. When we are young we naturally take more chances. I have read that the reasoning function of our brains is not even fully developed until we are about 21. Questioning our assumptions is a key step in assessing risk but the awareness of and skill in doing this can only be learned from experience over time.

On the other hand, while we may get wiser and better at risk assessment over time, which includes probability assessment and leads to contingency planning, our fears tend to magnify over time as well. It seems people are less likely to take chances the older they get. It can be far to easy to hide behind our assessment of risk.

When the reasons why we “shouldn’t” or “can’t” overwhelm our belief in what is possible, it may be time to take a chance or two lest we live the rest of our lives wondering “what if?” rather than courageously pursuing what could be and choosing to have faith in our ability to manifest our dreams.

Mike…

I do think there is a place for both taking chances and taking risks though. Sometimes if we take too much time to fully analyze an option the opportunity will pass us by. And other times our analysis of the risks will be informed so much by our fears that we will talk ourselves out of taking the risk when it may be exactly what we need to do to push us to the next level.

I think it is also important to remember that assessing risk is a lot like forecasting – we can’t really predict the future so we rely a lot on past experience which may in the end prove to be irrelevant.

Some additional thoughts about taking chances…I know personally that I have leaped without thinking very much, basing my choice entirely my on a feeling it was the “right thing to do” at the time. I have had to learn the difference between trusting my gut/following my intuition vs. acting on impulse driven entirely by emotion. Being the eternal optimist I always expect things to turn out – sometimes it does and sometimes it has led to a unpleasant outcome (my best example of this is my first marriage which ended in divorce at age 25).

Ultimately I believe taking a chance is more about taking a leap of faith. Perhaps that is the biggest risk of all. And as I write this response it occurs to me that the kind of chances I try to be mindful of avoiding are the ones purely based on emotion and impulse. Yet I suspect I will continue to choose to take chances on occasion based on intuition rather than a thorough assessment of risk.

I love what Gwyn says: “Maybe risks are about asking ourselves questions about what we might be willing to lose in order to gain something we want more.” And when the answer to those questions are “I don’t know” then perhaps we just have to choose whether or not we are willing to take a chance.

Thanks to all who commented here so far for engaging here and getting me to think more deeply!