Tim Ferriss defines risk as the chance of an irreversible negative outcome. i.e. How much time and resources would it take you to get back to where you started.

This definition allows you to separate out your inflated illogical fears from those of actual real risk. Often the actual real risk of doing something is insignificant, and it’s just our monkey brain and emotions blowing things out of proportion.

What is the actual risk of actively interacting and meeting new people? At worse some temporary embarrassment. But you can learn from every interaction no matter how well it goes, and thus get a positive return in value.

Now what’s the potential upside? You could make new friends, meet your significant other, or find new business opportunities. Any of these things can result from a SINGLE interaction.

Thus there is a huge asymmetrical return to taking action and meeting new people. The worst case scenario is that you learn from the experience and use the knowledge to become better in the future. The best case is that the interaction leads to an amazing relationship.

We often associate taking action with risk, however inaction is often the much riskier decision. A person who continuously takes action is constantly presented with new opportunities for growth. While doing nothing leads to stagnation and a person having less options. If you do not properly position yourself to be available for potential opportunities, you should not be surprised when they do not present themselves.

Full Video: https://youtu.be/SgGe5Q7QGaI