Taking Risks

How do you feel about risk? Do you avoid it or attract it? When you are creating what does risk look like to you? Do you need more or less of it in your relationship with creativity?
 
 Imagine creative risk on a scale from 1 to 10. The closer you are to 1, the fewer creative risks you prefer. The closer you are to 10, the more creative risks you prefer. Where would you like to be in a month from now or a year from now?

I tend to take risks in some areas of my life (for example, putting myself out there like this in these emails). Other areas of my life I'm more cautious (for example, the idea of skydiving terrifies me). Risk is defined as a situation involving exposure to danger or loss. Measuring risk can be like measuring uncertainty. In recent times we are faced with decisions daily to measure our risk, to face uncertainty. Fear. What is the value in facing our fears? In my experience, I notice that fear is often a state of mind that can be changed.
 
 Risk and fear can be a fascinating element to explore in our creations, in story, and in our lives. This week I invite you to reflect with me on where you notice risk and fear showing up as you create, share, and experience.

 “A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.”

― John A. Shedd

Revisit a work you've created. Experiment with conflict. We are drawn to conflict in stories, art, and music. Take risks with character. Play with power. Pretend you are an ethnographer, studying the culture of the world of this project. Let go of expectation—just for now—and play, test, connect, disconnect, and reconnect. Go into risk gently with your eyes wide open and see what happens. Sometimes even trying something new is a good place to start.