Counterpoint: Taking a Risk is NOT Risky Behavior
There is a big difference between taking a spontaneous risk and taking a calculated risk. Taking a spontaneous risk is risky behavior. However, taking a calculated risk is a skill you must learn to execute if you want to go from good to great at anything.
Moreover, this difference in types of risks is what makes risk taking such an important mental skill to learn.
To bridge the gap between a spontaneous risk and a calculated risk one must start with self-awareness. Specifically, self-awareness around knowing your strengths and having a game-plan that takes advantage of those strengths.
Unquestionably, all risks require exiting the comfort zone. However, if you decide to exit your comfort zone without self-awareness, you will limit your ability to learn from that experience. Ultimately, the ability to learn and make improvements because of that learning is what makes risk taking beneficial.
Yes, taking a spontaneous risk that pays-off in the short-term may help in that moment. But if that pay-off is not repeatable because everything done was random and unexplainable then there will be no advantage in the long-term.
On the other hand, a calculated risk predicated on self-awareness orients one to have a strategic mindset. Correspondingly, it’s the strategic mindset that helps one calculate the risk of taking a risk. This in turn is what helps one go from good to great.