Welcome to Part #1 of the Courage, Risks and Rewards Coaching program

We start Part #1 of the program by exploring what taking chances and making mistakes means to you.

So let me ask you a question, have you ever held back from doing something because it was too risky?

We probably all have done that at one time or another. Taking a chance usually means we have something to lose, and many of us shy away from losing.

Let’s face it, no one wants to lose. Still, taking chances is an integral part of life, and if we want our lives to change for the better, we have to become more aware of what we are willing and not willing to risk.

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Let’s begin this session by exploring what taking a chance means to you, and what makes it such a risky proposition.

Take a moment and look back on your life and think of a time when you took a chance at something. It can be anything – big or small, at work, or in your personal life.

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Next, I would like you to identify a time in your life when you made a mistake at something. Again, it can be anything – big or small, at work, or in your personal life.” A ‘mistake’ can be regarded as something we wish we could go back and do differently.”

Your Activity. I would like you to take out a blank sheet of paper and draw a line down the center of it, dividing the paper into two halves. Label the two columns with the following two phrases:

• Label the first column: “Taking a Chance”

• Label the second column: “Making a Mistake”

With the experiences of ‘taking a chance’ and ‘making a mistake’ fresh in your mind, take two minutes to write down in each column what the two phrases “Taking a Chance” and “Making a Mistake” personally mean to you.

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Now that you have answered the questions, “What does it mean to take a risk?” and “What does it mean to make a mistake?” please complete Part #1 by answering the following questions.

1. What link do you see between these two phrases – ‘taking a chance’ and ‘making a mistake’?

2. Where do you focus most of your time and energy: a) on taking a chance, or b) on avoiding a mistake?

3. How does your concern about making mistakes impact your willingness to take chances?

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Part #2 – Your Attitude Toward Taking Chances

Welcome to Part #2 of the Courage, Risks and Rewards Coaching program.In this section, you will dive deeper into the concept of having courage, taking risks and reaping the rewards. But before you do, I want to share with you the most important message to take away from this coaching program. It is:

“The biggest risk in life is not the possibility of making a mistake;
it’s never trying in the first place.”

We are constantly taking chances in life whether we realize it or not. When you get on a plane, cross a street, or just walk down the sidewalk, you run the risk of something bad happening. As much as we try, we cannot completely avoid risk.

Taking a chance to do something new or different does take effort, especially if you are uncertain of the results. Next, you will further explore the effort required for you to take more chances. You will do this by first becoming aware of your perspective on taking chances, and then recognizing the rewards you can receive from the risks you take. You will also look at what can help and hamper your effort when taking a risk.

This is the “Courage, Risk, and Rewards” approach to taking chances.

Let’s start by looking at the first element: Courage.

We sometimes think that doing nothing is being neutral or safe. That isn’t always the case. Doing nothing can actually be negative. The comfort zone we live in can be very seductive. Everyone desires comfort, but too much comfort can work against us, because an inability to step out of our comfort zone limits our potential.

Many people avoid taking chances because they are afraid. Being trapped by fear and refusing to take a chance leads to a safe, boring, and mediocre life. People with this mentality do not thrive, learn, love, or grow to their fullest potential because they will never step out of their comfort zones and take a chance.

You explore, discover and maximize your potential only by having the courage to take risks.

Now, you are going to do a fun activity called “That’s Just Crazy!”

Pull out Worksheet #1 – “What Am I Willing to Do?” and Worksheet #2 – “That’s Just Crazy!

I’d like you to take three minutes to assess your attitude towards risk and to determine how courageous you would be to do various activities that require different degrees of risk.

On Worksheet #1, there are four different quadrants that contain the following headings:

• “Not a problem for me to do”
• “I have done this, but found it scary”
• “I would be willing to try this”
• “I would never do this”

Worksheet #2 contains a list of various activities for you to assess your willingness to do.

Your Next Activity:Read over the activities on Worksheet #2 and place those activities in the quadrants on Worksheet #1.

Work quickly, trusting in your gut reactions rather than dwelling and thinking too hard about each one; after all, there are no right or wrong answers here. Also, you can either write the activity in the appropriate quadrant on Worksheet #1, or just place the activity number in the appropriate space.

Now that you have completed this activity, please complete Part #2 by answering the following questions.

§ “What did you notice when going through this exercise?

§ What surprised you?

§ Where were your personal boundaries challenged?

§ What did you learn about your attitude towards risk from completing this exercise?”

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Part #3, Section 1 – Why We Avoid Taking Risks

Welcome to Part #3 where you are continuing your exploration of what it means to have courage, take risks and reap the rewards.

As you discovered in Part #2, taking chances often has a negative connotation because it implies danger, anxiety, worry, and possible loss.

But taking chances also has a positive side because often the reward is greater than the risk.

Most of us are pretty good at not taking dumb risks, but many times we also miss the smart risks that come our way.

“Let’s take a closer look now at this idea of risk, thesecond element of our “Courage, Risk, Rewards” approach to taking chances.

To understand risk better, let’s look at why you avoid it, and how you can feel empowered to take more chances in the future.

Famous race car driver Mario Andretti once said, ‘If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.’ Before we can stretch out of our comfort zones and be willing to take new chances in life, we need to first look at why people avoid risk.

There are many reasons why people avoid taking risks, and 5 that I want to share with you.

They are:

1) “Failure – I might not get what I’m aiming for.

2) Exposure – If it doesn’t work out, it might reflect negatively on me. 3) Embarrassment – If I push for something, and it doesn’t work out, I could be judged by others.

4) Rejection – If the risk fails, I could be rejected by others.

5) Loss – If I try something new or different, I might have to give up what’s familiar.

Your Next Activity: Pull out Worksheet #3 and take three minutes to answer the questions in Section #1 about “Why we Avoid Risk?”

Then return to this module to complete Section #2.

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Part #3, Section 2 – What Supports Risk Taking

Welcome to Section 2 of Avoiding and Supporting Risk.

In the first section of this of this module we looked at why people avoid taking risks, and ways you avoid risk in your own life. Let’s continue by exploring ways you can put supports in place to help you take more risks.

If taking chances is important to move forward in our lives, then what can we do to support ourselves in doing so?

There are five powerful perspectives on risk taking that will empower you to take more chances in life.

• Take the Plunge –  Taking action towards achieving what you want is not really a risk. Action, no matter how small, will always create positive movement forward.

• Say ‘Yes’ to Life –  Life isn’t about obligations, commitments and to-do lists; it’s about being able to say ‘no’ to the distractions and ‘yes’ to the things that matter most.

• Go Out on a Limb –  The view will be much better from there, and you are bound to find some fruit.

• Swing for the Fences –  If you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. o Most people spend too much time pondering what won’t work and as a result justify why it’s best to take no action at all.

• Roll the Dice –  Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do. o If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start.

Your Next Activity:Refer back to Worksheet #3. Take three minutes to complete this module by answering the questions about “Supporting Risk Taking”.

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Part #4 – What I Gain From Taking Chances

Welcome back to Part #4 of the Courage, Risks and Rewards coaching segment.

You have made great progress in this coaching program.

So far you have:

•  explored what it means to take a chance and make a mistake,
• discovered what your attitude is toward taking chances,
• looked at why you avoid risk, and,
• explored ideas to support you in risk taking.

Now, we are going to bring this coaching segment full circle by discussing what you will gain from taking chances.

Taking chances can simply be a matter of perspective.

Those who are more willing to take chances are looking at what they stand to gain, rather than what they could lose.

They also know that even though something may not work out, no decision is catastrophic.

If we look logically at what we stand to lose and what we stand to gain, and make an educated decision, we truly can’t lose when taking chances.

In fact, if you are consistently taking risks in life you will ultimately come out ahead. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times when creating the light bulb before he finally succeeded. No matter how many failings he experienced, he only needed to succeed once. Today, he is known as one of the most famous inventors of all time.

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Happiness in life comes from acknowledging the need for change and being willing to try something new because the status quo is no longer working. With this in mind, taking chances offers great rewards, which is the third element in our “Courage, Risk, Rewards” approach to taking chances. Let’s take a closer look at the rewards we can reap from taking chances.

Your Next Activity: Take out Worksheet #4 – “The Rewards of Risk-taking.”
Take a moment to think of a risk you have been hesitant to take.
Now, weigh the possible losses and rewards you might encounter if you took that risk. Take 5 minutes to follow the steps listed on the worksheet, by identifying a risk, and then exploring its possible losses and rewards.

Now that you have completed this activity, please complete Part #4 by answering the following questions.

1.What did you notice when you identified the possible rewards of taking the risk instead of just focusing on the losses?
2.Why identify possible rewards when assessing risk?
3.What does this do for you? What did you learn from this exercise?

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Part #5 – Review and Lock It In

Welcome to Part #5 of the Courage, Risks and Rewards Coaching program.

Throughout this coaching program you have discovered that if you play it safe, you will not reach your full potential of happiness and success.

As hockey great Wayne Gretzky once put it, ‘You will always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’

Failure is inevitable. EVERYONE fails. But this much is true – no risk, no reward. And remember, you only need to succeed once no matter how many times you meet with failure. Sometimes being right on just one risk you’re willing to take is all you need to change your life forever!

Before we conclude, let’s summarize what you explored during this coaching program.

• You looked at your personal perspective around risk taking.

• You explored why you avoid risk and what you can do to better support yourself when taking chances.

• And you just looked at the possible rewards of stretching out of your comfort zone and doing things new and different.

To conclude this program, I’d like you to take a few minutes to review your completed worksheets and to answer the following questions.

• “How has my level of courage and my perspective on taking risks changed as a result of this program?

• Going forward, what would support me the most when taking a risk?

• What reward from risk-taking would motivate me the most to take a chance?

This concludes the coaching program on Courage, Risks and Rewards. I hope you found it valuable to help you assess your future opportunities and to take the risk!

If you are interested in what coaching with me and want a complimentary 30 minutes session, please go to my calendar link and book a one on one session. I offer one on one SpiritMatters Life Coaching Programs as well a Group Coaching Programs throughout the year. In January 2017 I will begin a new Coaching Program Discover Your Most Radiant Vision: Based on your Core Values and most Authentic Self. A 90 day focus on living the life you came here to live. .