A FOLKTALE tells of a man sentenced to death who talked the king into giving him a reprieve. He assured the king that within one year, he would teach the kings horse how to fly. If he failed, the man said, he would be willing to be put to death at the end of the year.
Asked why he would make this bizarre deal with the king, the man explained, “Within a year the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn how to fly.”
Some of us are typically reckless. Others are chronically cautious. To avoid either extreme, we must learn to ask ourselves, What is the worst that can happen? What is the best we can hope for? What is the most likely eventuality?
Unless we learn to recognize risk in personal terms, we sacrifice both the options of reasonable safety and excitement.
Every decision involves risk.