Do you take risks in your life or do you play it safe?

I am a strong believer in Johnston’s Law: “Murphy’s Law is ALWAYS in effect and it can affect YOU!”
Needless to say, I play it safe. Always.

Play it safe unless circumstances force me up against the wall and then I have to take a risk. Those times are few and even then I have trouble taking the risk. Yes, it seems those who risk reap more benefits but if you are not the risky type then rather play safe.

Depends. Completely situational.

I used to try to play it safe but since that option was taken away from me, i’ve become more of a risk taker.

I can’t afford to take big risks. Even if the reward were greater I don’t care. I don’t need greatness to be happy. Just need my safe little corner of the world.

I once hired a cross eyed chauffeur from Belgium…do the math (S)

All of us are risk takers as we leave the house each day. The trick is evaluating the risks as to probability and desired outcome.

Even the people above who say they are risk averse have taken great risks that I know of from their posts on Fluther. For instance, @Mariah has taken a chance of finding love with a partner, has done new things, has taken control of her health as best she can, is searching for a new job, and stayed cheerful as best anyone can.

In those instances, the alternative to risk taking is crawling into a hole in the ground.

There are risks, and then there are stupid choices. Growing up is learning to differentiate the two.

You asked a similar question a month ago and my answer is still the same.

@zenvelo, I appreciate that. The thing about most of my big decisions is that I’ve been pushed into them with few alternative options left. Getting my colon removed was risky and scary but I had tried all the medications and I was still sick and unable to live a normal life. As for my job, I probably should have seen the signs and been looking for other work months ago but I was comfortable where I was. I’m only looking elsewhere now that staying where I am is not an option. Maybe I should be more proactive – I think I live my life this way to protect myself from regret. If my surgeries had gone poorly, for example, I would have hated myself for choosing them if I felt they really were a choice. As it is they feel like a necessity, so not something I really can regret. Of course, this ignores the possibility of regretting not doing something.

I take emotional risks all the time. As for physical risks…no. If I become physically incapable I am pretty screwed. And I really don’t care for that scenario.

I am fundamentally not a risk taker. I did marry a man who is better at taking risks, and so I’m pretty sure my life has had a little more risk taking than if I had been alone.

There are different types of risks in life:

Health risks. Like doing dare devil things or sports that can get you hurt. I really shy away from this sort of risk. Even doing a medical procedure. To me every day sick or hurt is a day of freedom robbed from me. I don’t even what to catch a cold.

Financial risk: I was extremely conservative with finances. In retrospect if I had taken more risk I might have twice the money, but the downside of having less if I had made bad decisions is worse to me. Once I felt financially better secure, then I was more able to start taking more risks with the money, but I still keep much more than most people in a very safe, earn almost no interest, account.

Career risks: this is tied to money, but also tied to where you spend the majority of your day. I was very loyal to a company for 8 years. Once I left them I hopped around more. It hurt my career overall I think, but gave me a broader variety of skills so I can do many jobs.

Trivial change risks: like new hairstyles, new clothing styles, going to a new club, traveling to new cities and countries, trying a new hobby, I’m pretty moderate-risky with this sort of thing. Maybe a 7 out of 10.

After years of risk taking in high school and college I now lead an almost totally boring, risk free existence. The downside of doing this is we can begin to fear many more things than before. Such as Zika, driving near dark and even the grid going down.