Risk vs. Reward

When you try to do something different, there is always going to be a challenge. Some may consider this challenge to be a risk. When you accomplish something different, there is always going to a reward. After all, you have decided to do something different. You took a risk. For one reason or another, there must be some sort of reward for you to take this risk.

Whenever you set a goal or take a risk, you have to have this reward in mind in order to get started. Once you get going, you also have to keep this reward in mind in order to keep going. When the risk becomes clear, the reward can keep you going. The reward gets us on track and the reward keeps us on track.

What is the reward that will get you on track? There has to be something that will make you get up and go after your goals. We all have something that we want. We also have risks that we need to take in order to reach these rewards.

When you look at our health, I see many rewards that should be motivation to reach goals. Feeling good, looking good, the list goes on and on. These things are what we all want. What are the risks of seeking these rewards? Giving your time, effort or maybe a little money can be risks?

How much are you willing to risk for the rewards you want? Maybe this is a better question. This question brings us to the real issue. The rewards are clearly very significant. Feeling good and having energy to get through my day are very significant. Looking in the mirror and liking what I see is very significant. These are just two of the rewards.

What are the risks? Giving up a few minutes of sleep in the morning is one risk. Taking time to schedule my exercise is another risk. When I compare the risks to the rewards there is a very large gap. The risk seem very small to me compared to the rewards. This turns my routine into a no-brainer. Low risk and high reward are ideal.

Maybe my view has changed due to the length of time that I’ve been at it. When I take a closer look at my routine and the routines of my clients, I realize that the risk is larger than I first thought. It seems that my routine has been in place so long and I’ve had to take the risk so often that it seems smaller than it is.

When I work with someone that is just getting started, I see that the risk is more significant when it is new. When you are risking something for the first time, it seems like it will be more difficult. When you have something in place for a long time, it seems like more of a risk to change it and less of a risk to keep going with it.

This can work both ways. It can be a positive, as it has been in my routine. I have been making exercise part of my routine for so long that it doesn’t seem that it is a big risk. The longer I do it, the less of a risk I am taking.

In fact, the opposite is true for not exercising. I feel like it is a bigger risk for me to not do it in a given day or week. The risks of not taking care of my health are certainly greater than the risks of me taking action in my routine.

It can also work negatively for someone that is just getting started. When you are trying to do something you have never done, it feels like a big risk. When you are trying to do something that you have not done for a long time, it can feel like a big risk.

Even if I have to adjust, which I recently have done, the risks of not adjusting were far greater to me than the risk of adjusting. Now that I have adjusted, everything is smooth and there is nothing but reward on day to day basis.

It comes down to the thought of risk vs. reward. If you are truly thinking of the risks and rewards of making changes that you want to make, it feels like a no-brainer. When YOU decide that you want to be healthy and take action toward that goal, it makes perfect sense. You see the reward of you being healthy, you see the risk of you making time in your day and see that one far outweighs the other. The reward is much greater than the risk.

I can understand the concept of risk. I can see, because changing anything is difficult, why people associate risk with this process. Despite the reward far outweighing the risk, it is still there and we have to overcome it in order to reach our reward.

Just like everything in life, this is easier said than done. That doesn’t mean that it impossible. It just means that we have to be deliberate in order to get where we want to go. Think about your risk and acknowledge it. Make a list of the things that you are going to have to give up. Once you see them in writing you can see that this really isn’t risk as much as it is an adjustment.

The same goes for your reward. Once you have written them down and decided that they are things you want and will go after, they will not only feel more achievable, but you will start to look at them as necessity not just ideal. Once you are underway, keep focusing on the reward and reminding yourself why you are taking the risk in the first place.

After all, the only reason you are taking the risk is to get the reward. What is your reward? What are you doing to get it? Knowing the risks of not taking care of your health, I have to ask, what is the reward for that?