The prompt - Do you take risks?

The Prompt from the lovely Sara from Mumturnedmom for this week is a quote and it is:

Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is. 

Mark Twain

This is a quote that I can really relate to as to me this quote is about the benefit of taking risks. Now I'm not going to pretend that I am a massive risk taker, taking risks on a daily basis, as I am a parent and with that comes the responsibility to make sure that I take care of myself and my family. 

I do however believe that there are occasions in life where you need to take a risk to achieve great things. It may be taking the risk of asking someone on a date, the risk of trying for a promotion or changing career or it could be the risk of moving your family to a new country. All of these things can be seen as taking a risk as they all have the possibility of not working out as planned. You may get rejected by the person you are asking out on a date or by your employer in terms of a promotion, you may not have what it takes to succeed in a new career or your family may not like the new country that you are moving too.

As human beings we do not like to fail at things and we can often talk ourselves out of taking a risk for the fear of failure. What we do need to remember is that there could equally be great things if we take the risk, the person you asked on the date may say yes and end up being the love of your life, you may get the promotion and benefit from more money, respect and happiness at work, your new career change could lead to countless opportunities that would not of occurred without the change in career and your family may flourish in a new country which again could lead to countless new possibilities. 

I like to weigh up the pros and the cons of important decisions and often decide on taking the risk as I really believe that it is better to have tried and failed then to have never tried at all. This is why I have decided to go back to university to finish my degree in social work. I am very nervous about returning to study as it has been seven years since I was doing my degree and I have been worried about getting ill again as last time I got to the second year and then became ill with ME but I have weighed up the pros and cons and I feel that it is worth the risk as if I succeed and pass I will be able to better provide for my family alongside doing a job that I will truly enjoy. When all is said and done I would much rather be on my death bed thinking at least I had a go then laying there wondering what if I had taken a chance.

Are you a risk taker or do you like to play it safe? I would love to hear your views on this topic.