10 Mini Risks Worth Taking

1. Be silly. Life is full of trauma and suffering. Playfulness and humor can seem counterintuitive, but they can bring needed levity. Worry less if someone thinks you’re weird—it’s better to risk looking foolish than feeling bad. Plus, joy is contagious.
2. Get creative. Allow your artistic juices to flow. Consider which forms of art or expression you’d like to explore. Writing stories, performing comedy, sketching, painting, and other mediums can be highly therapeutic. If you want to up the ante, share what you’ve done at an open mic, show, or exhibit with a friend.
3. Try something new. Our brains crave novelty and variety. Shake up your routines, habits, and preferences with something out of the usual. Stretching beyond the bounds of what we know can help expand our repertoire of things we enjoy. Try a new food, visit a new place, or do something “out of character."
4. Reconnect with someone you lost touch with. The dread of reaching out after a long stretch is real. The pandemic made it easy to lose touch with one another, so even if you worry about the terribly long period of silence, it might not be as uncommon as you think, and you may just find the person delighted to rekindle.
5. Make new friends. With loneliness being called the “new smoking” as a health risk, it’s clear that many of us could use some company. And not just warm bodies. Still, it can be a bit awkward, particularly for the more introverted. Start small. Smile and strike up a conversation. Join a group or club. Look for people with both shared and diverse interests and identities.
6. Go against the grain. Group think can be a surefire way to remain stale and insular. Question authority, raise concerns, be contrarian, and resist the urge to conform.
7. Admit you’re wrong. As Alan Toffler put it: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Humble pie is hard to swallow, but throughout our life, we will be wrong countless times. Those who can recognize and admit it can serve as a display of humility, stellar thinking, and curiosity.
8. Reveal more of yourself in relationships and conversations. Worrying that we’re oversharing TMI (too much information) can hold us back from developing candid, trusting relationships. This doesn’t mean quick and dramatic reveals, but letting our guard down slowly can help build bonds that help us know we belong and are more fully seen.
9. Set boundaries. Confrontation dread is hard to contend with. It’s easy to let things slide and not express true identities, wants, and desires in the interest of people pleasing or avoiding conflict. But when we speak up and make clear our expectations and capacities, it allows us to build stronger more reciprocal relationships, where mutual respect can thrive.
10. Ask for help in all forms. Many of us find much more comfort in giving than receiving. It can be counterintuitive and vulnerable to ask for support. But given the burnout epidemic and global mental health crisis at hand, it’s a vital skill of today. Help from therapists, friends, and family can help us stay on track with the responsibilities at hand and the changes we are working to make.

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

What are some risks you might take in 2023?

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