What’s the best that could happen?: Why Risk Analysis is only part of the story

Often, we keep ourselves from trying new things, going out on a limb, or putting ourselves out there by focusing on the worst possible outcome.

“Oh, I could never ask him out, what if he says no and laughs at me?”

“We aren’t ready to have a Twitter account for our business, what if people say bad things about our products?”

“I can’t meet with the Dalai Lama because China would get pissed off.”

The thing of it is that we can’t predict the future.  Our minds close us off to new experiences (by predicting disaster) in order to keep things as they are, but things are always changing.

Therefore, if we can’t predict the future anyway, why not try flipping the script a little to keep things in perspective.

Next time, just as an exercise, try asking yourself “What’s the best that could happen?”  What could be the best possible outcome for asking out that guy, or creating that facebook page for your business, or meeting with whomever, or going to that party, or taking that chance.

Everything is always changing.  If you think of things in a positive way instead of a negative way, who knows what could happen. Do a reward analysis, not just a risk one!