Flexing Your Risk Muscle

The Lesson

This week’s challenge is inspired by a quotation from Roger Von Oech: “Everyone has a ‘risk muscle’. You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don’t it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.”

Roger is the president of California-based consulting firm, Creative Think. I was turned on to Roger’s work about two years ago while I was researching the fear of failure for an article I was writing. For many people, the fear of failure is a powerful, limiting force that sometimes prevents us from trying new things, taking chances, and exercising our risk muscles. Often this fear leads to excuses for inaction:

I don’t have the time. I don’t have the money. I’m not smart enough. I’m not good enough. I could never do that. I’m too slow. I don’t know where to start.

Ugh! How many times have these thoughts stopped you from trying something new? Probably more than you can remember or care to admit for that matter. However, as Roger points out, we have to try new things in order to exercise our risk muscles and keep them in shape.

The Challenge

This week, while at work or at home, try to identify one new thing that you can do to exercise your risk muscle each day. It doesn’t have to be as risky as crossing skydiving off of your bucket list, but it should be something that provides you with a new experience—something that pushes you to see things from a different perspective.

Here are a couple of ideas to help you get your creative juices flowing:

• Take an alternative route to work.
• Pack your lunch this week if you normally go out.
• Brush your teeth with your opposite hand.
• Try water instead of pop/soda or vice versa.
• Read a magazine you wouldn’t normally read.
• Dress in your Sunday best each day for work.

As I hope you will see, even simple exercises like those described above are likely to provide fresh insights and get you thinking in new ways. However, if this challenge inspires you to go skyping, horseback riding, or out on a blind date, great! Your risk muscle will only be that much stronger.

If you feel inclined, please share one (or all) of your seven exercises in the comments area of this post.

The Reflection

1. What did you learn about yourself this week as a result of completing this challenge?
2. How can you continue to benefit from this challenge in the future?
3. What was your biggest takeaway?
4. What positive changes could you make going forward in order to maximize the benefit of this challenge?
5. How would continual practice of this challenge change your life?

Be sure to exercise this week!

Gary Jensen

Editor | collector mentor