“It is not that women don’t take risks: it’s that they take risks differently than most men do.” - Barbara Kurshan, Contributor at Forbes 

Varied discourse exists on the differences in gender and risk assessment, but there is typically a common denominator: on average, men take more risks than women. 

If you were to ask a woman if she describes herself as a risk-taker and listen without judgement, you likely won’t be met with a simple, “yes” or “no” answer. The answers are much more nuanced. Even the most go-getting, motivated woman you know might hesitate to call herself a risk-taker. This could have to do with the implications of navigating uncertainty and failure, societal standards and views, or something else internalized or perceived. 

While studies vary as to why women take less risks than men, GoBundance Women will help you leverage the ambition you already have to keep you motivated and connected with women who, like you, are ready to put their best foot forward while maintaining support and feeling confident in who they are. 

The key points of embracing your risk-taking self begin with accepting that change and uncertainty are inevitable, weighing the pros and cons to take more calculated risks, reframing mistakes and failures to match a growth mindset, and of course, surrounding yourself with the right people. 

Change Is Inevitable—And It Isn’t All Bad 

Why should you take risks at all?

Maybe you’re looking for a career change, ready to get back into the dating scene, looking for a new hobby, or perhaps life feels stagnant and needs some zest. 

Whatever the reason, it’s good to mobilize out of your comfort zone to experience and discover new things in order to grow and reach goals or feel more fulfilled. There’s no such thing as the perfect time. Your only guarantee is this moment right now, so why wait to increase your capacity to enjoy, feel happiness or success?

An article titled How to Get More Comfortable Taking Risks by Yesel Yoon Ph.D. and published through Psychology Today claims that, “compared to risk-averse people, risk-takers tend to be more open, possess a greater tolerance for uncertainty, and are more adaptable to change.” 

Hesitation often accompanies the notion of risk-taking because of the uncertainty surrounding the outcome. This hesitation isn’t necessarily good or bad, but rather, natural! 

The human brain is hardwired to survive and protect, and this often means running through every possible scenario, hypothesizing, and combing through the outcomes—it’s a means of feeling in control of the uncertainty. We crave to know and expect because it helps us feel safe. 

To help alleviate some of the stress and worry that can accompany the uncertainty of change, you’ll have to learn to accept that you can’t predict everything. What you can control is how you react and the mindset you uphold when you take risks. 

Change and uncertainty are inevitable, and no matter the outcome, it’s important to navigate with a clear purpose. 

Be A Calculated Risk-Taker 

A blog titled The Art of Taking Risks: How to Embrace Uncertainty and Thrive on Medium says, “not all risks are created equal.” Taking calculated risks doesn’t mean overanalyzing and overthinking every little thing, but rather, simply weighing your pros and cons in a manner that makes sense to you and the specific risk you’re taking. 

This could be just internally listing a quick few thoughts, counting them on your fingers, or perhaps something more detailed like a written list or spreadsheet. How you choose to collect information to prepare yourself should depend on the kind of risk you’re taking; remember that this is a way to create a clear purpose as you navigate the unknown. 

Consider the principles and morals you hold, the things that drive you and energize you,and remember that what you know is just as important as how you feel. Ask yourself questions as necessary, anticipate potential mistakes that could arise, but also make sure to trust your instincts—that gut feeling inside of you speaks for a good reason! 

Being a calculated risk-taker is a delicate balance of following your heart and intuition while also relying on logic. 

A good way to ease yourself into risk-taking is to start with smaller, more manageable risks, such as trying a new coffee shop or having dinner at a restaurant by yourself. You can practice running through a small list of pros and cons associated with these smaller risks to get in the mindset of practicing being more open. Even if these smaller risks don’t pan out the way you want, you can walk away with the knowledge that you tried something new and you’re still safe to exist and safe to try again! 

Reframe Missteps As Lessons 

If you want to truly embrace yourself as a risk-taking woman, it’s time to reframe how you think about mistakes, imperfection, and failure. Ditch the negative connotations often surrounding these words and instead, make the words work for you! Reframing the thoughts and feelings you associate with these words to be more optimistic will help you move past the way they might otherwise set you back. 

Mistakes are an opportunity to learn. 

Mistakes, like uncertainty, are inevitable. Think of making a mistake like having a safety cushion that warns you, hey, maybe we need to do this differently! It’s perfectly okay to learn and grow. 

Imperfections are what make your journey unique. 

It’s a beautiful thing when you get to live life on your own terms, even when it doesn’t look like someone else’s. There are little blessings to be found in the things that make you you and your unique path—you just have to trust the process! It wouldn’t be as exciting if your risk-taking journey looked exactly like everyone else’s, would it? 

Failure means you get to try again. 

Failing isn’t an end-all-be-all, and it doesn’t mean what you want is unattainable or impossible. When you take a risk and it doesn’t work out, you’re likely your own worst critic. It just means that maybe you need to go back a few steps and reapproach the risk a little differently than you did the first time! 

In a Forbes article titled Women And Risk - Embracing Risk In Times Of Crisis, contributing writer Barbara Kurshan explains that women should reframe mistakes or failures as “a chance to explore new avenues and diversify their offerings.”

When you overcome this fear of making mistakes, you open yourself up to gaining better footing to move forward. If you fall, you get back up, and you try again. Embrace your mistakes as a way to help you grow. Having a growth mindset will help you view risk-taking as a challenging opportunity that can provide you with better insight or help you develop new skills. 

No matter what happens, you’re never left with less, and you’ll always be making more progress—even when it isn’t tangible. 

When mistakes do arise, Yesel Yoon Ph.D. suggests asking yourself a few questions to help keep you moving forward, such as:

• What can I learn from this mistake?
• What is something interesting I discovered during this risk-taking process?
• When is the next time I can try this again, and use the new information I have learned about myself and taking this risk?

These three questions will help you find the unique lessons in your risk-taking process so you have a better opportunity when you try again. 

It can also help to have people who will hold you accountable to reframing your thoughts and treating mistakes as lessons, imperfections as your path’s uniqueness and failure as another chance to try again. 

Surround Yourself With Supporters

In any of life’s ventures, especially risk-taking, it’s important to have a solid support system! Surrounding yourself with others who are supportive, encouraging, forward-thinking motivators who will offer you constructive criticism and deliver it kindly is essential. 

It’s imperative to engage the strength of others in times of crises, uncertainty or even just newness, as they help provide stability and keep you grounded when you’re taking a risk or leap of faith. 

According to Medium, “if you surround yourself with people who encourage growth, innovation, and risk-taking, you’ll feel more supported and empowered to act.” These are the qualities we strive to embody through our pillars at GoBundance Women. 

A membership with us will help you easily connect with women who share similar ideals, ideas, and who have various perspectives uniting under the common goal of wanting to create an uplifting community of women they can rely on for support during times of risk, celebration or other.

Risk-taking is an opportunity to increase your repertoire of skills and knowledge—to strengthen your ability to face adversity head-on—and it doesn’t have to be a journey you take alone. 

Join the GoBundance Women today so you can surround yourself with other risk-taking women learning to embrace letting go and being more open to living better lives, developing new skills and gaining new insights together while finding genuine, lasting support.