5 reasons why you should take that professional risk
If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.
Welcome to Illuminate Me. Each week, I share an illuminating insight to help you communicate and connect better, growing your reach, impact, and career.
This week’s insight: No risk, no reward.
If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.
And for a lot of people, that means taking a risk, career-wise.
Yet far too often, people resist taking action because they’re scared.
Fear is a powerful emotion. It often masquerades as a cloak of protection, keeping us from doing things that may harm us.
But sometimes, the real damage comes from the inaction that fear enables, especially regarding your career.
Fear is a liar, chipping away at our confidence, making us believe that we’re better off not trying new things or taking action.
So we avoid those things that make us uncomfortable, but—spoiler alert!—there is no growth in the status quo.
Sooner or later, that caution and those fears that prevent you from getting hurt stagnate you, wreaking havoc on your progress.
Yes, taking a professional risk is scary.
But here are five reasons you should do it anyway:
1. It’ll help you smash your limiting beliefs
Horrific nightmares of self-doubt plague nearly everyone at some point, especially when we genuinely care about the outcome. We stress about doing things we place high importance on and value, such as a promotion, winning a new client, or starting our own business. So much so that we might never even attempt them because we mistakenly believe limiting beliefs like “I’ll make a fool of myself” or “I could never be successful.”
Taking action is the antidote to self-doubt. You’ll begin to banish those unfounded, limiting beliefs once you take that professional risk toward what you want. So often, what we’ve imagined is far worse than any real-life outcome.
2. It’ll open you up to new people, opportunities, and possibilities
When you put yourself out there, a whole new world opens up to you.
Taking a risk means change, which sometimes gets a bad rap because it’s often viewed as a disruptor. When one thing changes, others usually follow suit.
But if you flip that around, you’ll see that change is the antithesis of the status quo.
Change shakes things up and breathes new life into old methods and routines. New people cross our paths, and with them, new opportunities. We’re forced to get out of ruts we may not know we’ve been in, view things differently with a fresh perspective, and envision what’s possible, not just what is.
3. You’ll gain valuable experience
Challenging yourself to leave your comfort zone helps you stretch your wings and gain new skills, experience, and confidence.
Still unsure about taking a chance?
Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow. As hockey great Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Even if you fall short of what you set out to do, you’ll still be rich with the experience you gained along the way.
4. You’ll regret it if you don’t
In his newest book, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward, Dan Pink shared that a common regret of people was not being daring enough in their careers, whether staying in a lackluster job rather than starting a business or playing it safe professionally.
Pink calls these “boldness regrets,” the times we decide not to take a chance because the change we’re contemplating seems too big, disruptive, challenging, or hard. But “eventually the choice distresses us with a counterfactual in which we were more daring and, consequently, more fulfilled,” Pink said.
5. Action begets more action
When you decide to make the leap, you’re taking the first step toward growth.
The funny thing about action is that it begets more action. Once you start, you build momentum and are more inclined to keep it going.
Action is empowering and contagious; inaction breeds stagnation.
Remember: no risk, no reward.
One reason you might be compelled to that risk?
A trigger event.
A trigger event is a person, place, thing, or situation that elicits an intense or unexpected emotional response.
And in the context of your career, it can spur incredible growth.
In my latest Forbes article, I share three reasons why.
More illumination:
Miss last week’s newsletter? I shared how to avoid professional déjà vu.
And one from the archives: Simple isn’t always easy, but in the context of your career, it’s worth it.
P.S.
What I do:
When I’m not writing this newsletter or moving past my fear and taking a professional risk, I’m a social media ghostwriter. (Yep, that’s a thing). I help founders craft their stories to communicate and connect better, magnifying their reach and impact. (Think personal branding and thought leadership.)
I can also weave together your personal and professional experience to write an engaging, original, and authentic career story that aligns with and supports your personal brand and thought leadership, positioning you for success.
Learn more by visiting my website.
Where you can follow me and find more of my work:
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