The Benefits of Taking Risks

By Vera Quinn, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Cydcor

When you’re ten years old, your mom is just about the last person in the world you want to hang out with. So, when my then ten-year-old son asked me if I wanted to join him for a day hike, I knew I couldn’t refuse, even though it would mean sweating profusely as I drag myself, panting and terrified, uphill for two hours, getting whacked in the face by branches, tripping over rocks, and the risk of falling over the edge of a steep cliff. Refusing to let him down, I took one agonizing step at a time, knowing eventually, if I just kept moving forward, I would climb my way to the top.

That day on the mountain left me with some valuable lessons about what is possible when you take risks, face your fears, and dig in to overcome the things that you believe are holding you back.

Here are 7 ways taking risks can change your life for the better:

1. Do Things You’re Not Good At – Nobody likes to look stupid or fail, but only by risking embarrassment, disappointment, and failure do we create room for real change, growth, and astounding personal achievement. Put yourself out there, get uncomfortable, and create your own opportunity.
2. Exceed Expectations ­­- Other’s and Your Own – My son never thought I’d accept his invitation to go for a long hard hike, and I never thought I’d be able to finish it. But by pushing to exceed both my son’s expectations and my own, I opened the door to an entirely new experience and a new accomplishment I once believed was impossible.
3. Face Obstacles Head On – As I stumbled over rocks, vines, and narrow, slippery pathways, I realized obstacles are unavoidable and the ONLY way to continue forward is to face them as they come and conquer them one by one.
4. Stand up to Your Fears – Change is scary and so is growth. For me, climbing my personal mountain meant dealing with my intense fear of heights. But I refused to fail, not this time, and I refused to let my son down. Deciding that failure was no longer an option became my secret weapon to overcome my greatest fear.
5. Fake it Till You Make it – Find your motivation as you go. Sometimes, you just don’t feel strong enough to take risks and face the challenges ahead. But what if you trust that your motivation will grow along the way? Sometimes just getting started is enough to unlock the motivation you needed to keep going.
6. Take it one step at a time – Don’t focus on the mountain top you’ve got to conquer. Instead, focus on just getting through that next step, and before you know it, the mountaintop will come to you.
7. Trust in the payoff – Even if you can’t see the benefits of risk taking, trust that eventually the payoff will reveal itself. While I struggled up that steep mountain path, I wondered what magical fairies might greet me at the peak to make it all worth it. I decided to believe there would be a payoff, even if I couldn’t imagine what it would be. When I saw the look on my sons face as I finally reached the top, I knew what all the hard work had been for.

On the mountain and in life, you can only discover what you can do when you say yes to challenges, as daunting as they may seem. No matter what obstacles have presented themselves over the years, I’ve learned that if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I can accomplish almost anything.

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We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services located in Agoura Hills, CA. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor takes pride in having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.