Calculated Risk Taking – Dr. Walter Matweychuk
In Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) I teach people skills for taking calculated risks. Anxiety, considered in REBT theory as an unhealthy and self-defeating negative emotion, will block you from taking calculated risks. Calculated risks are carefully considered actions that are consistent with your goals and values. Unlike foolhardy risks, calculated risks require frustration tolerance, also known as discomfort tolerance, as you identify and evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of a specific course of action. The concern, considered in REBT theory to be a healthy and self-helping emotion, will help you to “look before you leap” but will allow you to take a risk when potential payoffs and the probabilities of success are sufficiently high to warrant the risk taken. Fallible humans in possession of emotional health and rational thinking are capable of calculated risk-taking.
Here are three irrational attitudes which will block calculated risk taking:
1. It is too hard to think this through and carefully identify the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of the course of action I would like to take. I cannot stand doing the homework in advance.
The person with this first irrational attitude will be at risk to either take a foolhardy risk or to play life too safe and miss opportunity to experience achievement consistent with their goals and values.
2. I need a guarantee that this risk will pay off in the end. I must not fail.
The person with this second irrational attitude will be very reluctant to take a risk and will miss the opportunity to achieve goals. If the individual holding this attitude can move forward with the course of action, they are likely to suffer high levels of anxiety and suffer needlessly in advance of taking action. They may also have difficulty doing an appropriate amount of homework in advance of taking action and keep on researching to find the guarantee that they falsely believe they absolutely need.
3. If I fail, it will make me a failure as a person and show I am a fool for taking this risk.
The person with this third irrational attitude will fear that they may experience future shame if they were to fail. Their self-esteem is on the line as they consider action and will be very anxious and less likely to take the calculated risk. If the person were to fail in their action, the shame and depression they would experience would likely be strong due to this attitude.
In helping people become better at taking calculated risks I zero in on the these and other attitudes that undermine their ability to do the required homework and to take calculated risks. Now let us take a look at the corresponding three specific rational attitudes which I would cultivate with the individual to free them from the anxiety and low frustration tolerance which would prevent them from taking calculated risks.
1. It is hard to think this through and carefully identify the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of the course of action I would like to take but it is not TOO hard. I can stand doing the required homework in advance, and it is worth doing as I wish to evaluate whether or not this risk is worth taking. I am committed to prudent action. I will avoid taking foolhardy action which would be due to having low frustration tolerance for doing the required homework in advance of action.
2. I want a guarantee that this risk will pay off in the end, but I cannot have one and do not absolutely need one before taking action. Life does not come with guarantees and if I demand one I will never take sensible action and miss out on the opportunity. I do not want to fail, but it does not follow I absolutely must not fail. I can accept the uncertainty that I could fail, and if I do, I will take comfort in the fact I did my homework in advance of taking action.
3. If I fail, it will not make me a failure as a person and will not make me a fool for taking this risk. It will prove I am a fallible human who failed this time. I can learn from the experience, and this will help me take future calculated risks. I will accept myself unconditionally with both my successes and failures. Unconditional self-acceptance is a choice I can always choose to make. With self-acceptance, I will be better able to face the practical consequences of a failed calculated action without creating emotional upset that will only make it far harder for me to deal with the practical consequences of my failure. I can feel healthy disappointment if I fail and rationally sidestep shame and depression.
As you can see REBT will provide you with the rational thinking skills and philosophical attitudes that will lead you to feel appropriately concerned in advance of taking a calculated risk. Life involves making tough decisions. Cultivate and use healthy attitudes and healthy feelings of concern to do the homework which will enable you to evaluate the potential benefits and the probability of success in advance of action. After a period of contemplation make a decision and then either act or choose to refrain from acting not due to fear but out of healthy concern. If you are unable to do this, then learn Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and cultivate the healthy attitudes you need to take calculated risks which will help you get the most out of life!