I was driving around in whatever city I was in the other day (I want to say Los Angeles), eating up a few minutes before I needed to arrive at the event. I thought I'd wander a bit in my rental car, seeing what was nearby.
As I navigated traffic and took in what I could, I started to wonder if I was being foolish. Should I be driving around? I didn't get the extra insurance at Hertz - what if someone bumps into me? Is it worth the risk for me to be driving around like this?
So I thought about pulling over into a parking lot. Maybe I'll just check email on my phone and play games for a half hour while parked. I assume my odds of being in a 13-car pile up are lessened when I'm stationary at this Walgreens.
Or maybe not. Maybe this drugstore parking lot is known for its random collisions. Anyone hopped up on their prescriptions could rear end me, too. Is the parking lot safer?
Probably. It's usually safer to stay still, to not move, and to sit pat. There is less risk there, for sure.
But there is also less reward. We like to think that staying still is safer, but many times, the risk of not moving is much greater than that of staying put.
And when it's riskier to not dare, to not try, and to not move, then we've got to lean into the unknown, take a deep breath, and move.
Besides, staying still doesn't eliminate the risk. Chance and happenstance and opportunity are each something we all live with. So why not leverage the risk to your own benefit?
I dare you to move.