7 Reasons To Stop Playing Safe
If you want to succeed, that is
Everybody hates losing. Whether it’s money, status, comfort, or freedom, having more is better than having less.
It’s easy to get attached to possessions and hard parting with them. It is amazing how fast new situations become the new normal and how hard it is to even imagine living without them.
A car, a new job, a house, or some extra cash in the bank suddenly appear in our lives, and then we clench our fists and hold on to it as if it was a matter of life or death. Yet, we managed perfectly fine without any of that shit for years.
We adapt quickly to improvements, take them for granted, and dread having to live without them. We run on the hedonistic treadmill faster and faster thinking the only way is up. We become attached to status and do anything to keep it up.
But that’s a mistake.
Here is why.
1. Opportunity cost.
When you play safe you are hoarding, you are more preoccupied with not losing rather than winning and that can be very costly.
People find it harder losing $1 vs not winning the same $1 when rationally it should be the same. This is known in psychology as loss aversion bias. The problem here is that in order to avoid losing 1, you miss the opportunity of making thousands.
When people say I don’t want to invest, it’s too risky or I want a secure job even if the money is crap, they don’t realize they are missing a great opportunity to do better in life. Yes, there are some risks but there are more risks in staying put in a situation of scarcity.
Fear is a bad advisor. You should not be careless with your hard-earned cash but whenever you make a decision keep in mind how much you are losing by playing too safe.
2. Luck
If you don’t play the lottery, you can’t win. Simple as that. Yes, the ticket may cost $1 but that’s nothing compared with the potential win. (By the way, I’m not advocating for the lottery, the odds are too low. This is just a metaphor)
When you stay in a job you hate. When you don’t go out and meet new people. When you don’t publish your work online. When you don’t pursue your mission in life, you are not buying that ticket that could bring you unlimited benefits at a very low cost.
Luck favors the bold. When you sacrifice huge potential gains for an attachment to mediocrity you are losing big time.
Do a risk/benefits analysis and if the risk is low and the upside is unlimited you should probably go for it.
3. Stagnation
Playing not to lose will make you stagnant, and in a fast-changing world, that means you are actually going backward.
Not going for that promotion, not starting that side hustle, not investing some of your money, and not learning new skills is in fact very risky. If you don’t like a risk that’s precisely what you should be doing.
Most people like to keep their cash in the bank (or under the mattress) since investing is deemed risky. They don’t realize that not growing is synonymous with shrinking. Inflation is a real thing and is eating away your money at 10% a year. We can bury our head in the sand and pretend we are safe but reality always comes back to kick us in the nuts.
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance
Derek Bok
4. Job security
No such thing.
When your company decides to get rid of you they don’t take into account your loyalty, your experience, or how obedient you’ve been. You are just a number and the number is zero.
By being an employee, not only you are missing out on countless opportunities, but you are also putting all your eggs in the same basket; a leaking, broken, tiny basket.
If you are still working for the man, start thinking about starting your own business, creating a side hustle, or trying to gain control of your life.
When you are an employee you have no power, no independence, and no say in the decision-making. Even if you see the ship sinking and know how to fix it, your boss is too busy to take advice from a subordinate like you.
Be your own driver, don’t rely on the wisdom of strangers.
5. Investing
Investing = risk
Not investing = more risk
Money is like water, it rots when still
Between opportunity cost and inflation, it makes no sense to keep cash in your pocket.
Of course, you must be careful, analyze the risks and have some liquidity for a rainy day, but unproductive assets must be turned productive if you want to stand a chance of retiring early and enjoy life.
Some investments, like stocks or crypto, are very liquid so even if you have a sizable portion of your portfolio there, you can always liquidate for an emergency (albeit sometimes at a loss) The rest can be put in more long term projects like property or investing on your own business.
Don’t let fear dictate your life or you’ll be poor forever.
6. Probability
Statistic and probability are probably the most useful subjects you can study. Life is a probability game and not understanding the odds will make for poor decision making.
For instance, the amount of people thinking that flying is not safe is appalling, considering it’s by far the safest form of transport. Thousands die every year choosing to drive instead of flying. Study probability and it can save your life, literally.
Do you want to know what’s going to kill you?
Simple. You’ll die from cancer or a coronary disease with a 50% probability.
Not terrorism, not violent crime, not poverty, not COVID-19, not an alien invasion, and not an asteroid. You can safely ignore those risks and focus all your effort on eating healthy, not smoking, not drinking, and doing exercise and you’ll be safe.
Ignore irrational fears. Study the odds and concentrate on the biggest probabilities.
7. Sunk cost fallacy
When we invest time or money in a project, we are more likely to stay with it even when it’s obvious it’s a sinking ship.
The sunk cost fallacy is another of the conservative biases that make us attach to situations that are beyond salvation.
A broken relationship, a dead-end job, the wrong investment, or a bad decision. We know we did wrong but cutting our losses and calling it quits is extremely hard to do. Yet it must be done in order to avoid wasting even more time and even more money.
Losing 10% of whatever is much better than losing 100%. If you cut your losses early you can save 90% and that’s a big gain. Keep that in mind.
Conclusion
Attachment is one of the worst emotions you can have. It will make you suffer, miss opportunities, and make you live an impoverished life.
Let it go. If it’s not helping you, it’s hindering you. Don’t get attached to safety, money, or comfort. Don’t be afraid of taking risks.
You only live once. Are you going to waste it worrying about the penny you might lose while it’s raining $100 bills? Are you going to live a mediocre life just because you are scared of taking the leap? Are you going to let fear dictate what you should do and shouldn’t do?
You have nothing to lose. You came to this world naked and you will leave naked. Whatever you think you’ve gained so far is nothing compared to the infinite possibilities out there available to you. Develop your full potential, keep fear at bay, play to win, and burn all your ships.
You owe it to yourself and you owe it to the world.
“It’s never too late to be who you were meant to be”
George Eliot
Disclaimer: Not financial advice, informational purposes only.