Everyday Risk. Challenge Is All Around Us.
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Focus
Risk forms part of our everyday lives, it’s not about big thrills or even danger. It’s about balancing positive and negative outcomes, and navigating them toward success. There are moments around us all the time to strengthen our risk intelligence.
Summary
Developing risk intelligence, especially through small everyday challenges, strengthens decision-making and resilience, providing young people with skills to navigate both minor and major risks confidently.
- Small risks build foundational skills for facing larger, more complex challenges.
- Everyday choices, like meal prep, highlight practical ways to manage health risks.
- Young people gain valuable resilience by embracing risks that adults might overlook.
- Visible adult decision-making models thoughtful risk assessment for youth.
- Guiding youth through controlled risks fosters their critical thinking and identity.
Small Risks Are Everywhere
Risk intelligence grows through navigating small challenges, shaping our approach to larger risks.
- Taking small risks strengthens decision-making for bigger challenges ahead.
- Avoiding minor challenges can make larger risks feel more daunting.
- Reflecting on small risks develops resilience and sharpens risk intelligence.
Often when people think of risk, especially with young people, they think of hair raising stunts, jumping out of trees, or for younger adults substance and alcohol abuse. But risk is much simpler than that, and for that reason the way we navigate the small risks will reinforce how we take the big ones.
Risk intelligence is like any other intelligence. The more we use it the stronger it gets. If we avoid navigating small challenges, the bigger ones will be that much more difficult. Just the same, if we reflect on these moments, we’ll build better, stronger thinking.
Why Navigating Small Risks Matters
Risk intelligence involves making choices that align with our goals by balancing risks thoughtfully.
- Every choice carries risk; balancing pros and cons is essential.
- Daily choices, like meal prep over fast food, impact long-term wellbeing.
- Risk intelligence means planning and acting in line with personal values and goals.
Realistically, all of our choices are risks. When we’re confronted with a decision, there’s pros and cons and we’re in the pursuit of trying to pick a path which will benefit us in some way. The better we are at taking risks, the more likely we are to pick the right choices.
For example, driving home after a long day at work you might be inclined to stop for some fast food! This isn’t always a “bad” choice, but if it’s a pattern, it could be contributing to poor health. The ability to in the moment navigate that choice and balance it accurately is critical.
Just the same, you might balance and mitigate that risk by preparing meals earlier in the week, meaning you’re not hungry and tired at the end of your work day! That moment was when you were at the shops, picking what you were going to buy, and then when you got home and had the option of Netflix, or Meal Prep!
All of these choices are in front of us every day. Being risk intelligent means reflecting, planning and acting in a way which leads you to success which is true to who you are and what you want for yourself.
More About Powerful Thinking
“Thinking About Thinking” – Metacognition Is At The Heart of ResilienceWant Growth Mindsets? Take Risks.Perceived Risk For Young People
Young people’s perceptions of risk differ from adults, offering unique growth opportunities.
- Youth may find ordinary situations risky, making these moments rich for learning.
- Encouraging healthy risk-taking supports emotional and physical development in young people.
- What seems minor to adults can feel significant and challenging for youth.
When it comes to young people and risk, we can sometimes forget that what is a risk for them is unlikely to be a risk for us. This means we can miss a lot of opportunities to challenge them in healthy ways.
For a young person, meeting new people is a risk! In many cases they’re navigating situations that we see as typical, for the first time. That means it’ll be confronting and complex for them.
Just the same, we might feel like encouraging risk taking in a young person will lead them to be wild and reckless. But for them, jumping off the couch is often a huge risk in their eyes, while to us it’s pretty tame! That doesn’t mean they don’t get all of the benefits emotionally and physically.
Why Taking Risks Builds Resilience
Toughening Up – How Risk Makes Us ResilientWhy You Want Your Kids To Quit: The Value of Overcoming ChallengesNormalising v Catastrophising Risk
Modelling healthy risk-taking helps young people understand and assess risks responsibly.
- Talking through adult decisions demonstrates thoughtful risk assessment to young people.
- Catastrophising risk may cause youth to either avoid challenges or distrust advice.
- Consistently overreacting to risks can erode young people’s trust in adult guidance.
When it comes to young people, navigating risk as an adult in a way that’s visible helps them to understand and better see it themselves. When we talk out our process of thinking and the choices we make, we’re setting a positive example.
Just the same, if we catastrophise risk or choices around young people, one of two things will happen. They will come to believe that risk is dangerous, preventing them from making even the smallest of choices without conceding to the easiest, least challenging path. Or secondly, they’ll come to distrust your perspective which can spell disaster for later.
The young person who has their parent regularly catastrophise risk, like “don’t climb that tree, you’ll hurt yourself” who is never hurt and does it anyway (kids will take risks if you tell them to, they’ll just wait until you’re not around) will believe you’re wrong. This means when you give them sound advice, like “don’t get in the car with a friend who’s been drinking” they’ll believe your judgement is flawed.
Facilitating Risk
Risky Kids clubs embrace everyday risks to build resilience, growth, and identity in young people.
- Kids face challenges through movement and social interactions, enhancing their resilience.
- Guiding youth through risk helps them develop identity and critical thinking skills.
- Everyday risks are dwindling, highlighting the need to encourage healthy, manageable challenges.
Risky Kids clubs take advantage of these everyday risks. In our classes we use exciting movements and social interactions between Coaches and kids to facilitate moments of challenge, risk and adversity.
Young people are then guided through these moments, having their thinking challenged to sharpen and develop it so that they can build resilience and an identity on the best parts of themselves.
Not only is this a powerful tool, it’s becoming more and more necessary. The everyday risks are disappearing, as educators and families become more afraid of young people being uncomfortable or discontent, and everything becomes easier. We need to remember how important healthy, everyday risks are and find more opportunities to take them!
Richard Williams
Risky Kids Founder, Director of Programming
Richard Williams is a fitness industry consultant, gym owner, business coach and professional stunt actor with more than a decade of experience in the health and fitness industry. With an education in psychology and criminology, Richard blended life experience as a fitness industry consultant with Spartan Race, gym owner, elite-obstacle racer, ultra-runner and professional stunt actor to create the Risky Kids program.
Richard has a passion for enacting meaningful social change through all avenues of health and wellbeing and believes that obstacles are the way. Some of Richard’s key achievements include:
- Key consultant/coordinator Spartan Race/Tough Mudder/Extreme Endurance
(Australia/NZ/Global) - OCR World Championship Finalist – Team & Solo (2015)
- OCR World Championship Silver Medallist – Team Endurance (2018)
- Professional film and television stunt performer for 15 years
Considered one of Australia’s foremost experts in the fields of fitness, wellbeing and behavioural science, Richard is frequently in demand as a guest speaker for relevant government and non-
government bodies and organisations. Speaking engagements centred on the success of the Risky Kids program, philosophy and approach have included:
- Expert speaker/panellist Sports & Camp; Recreation Victoria and Outdoors Victoria forums
- Closing expert speaker at the Australian Camps Association National Conference
- Expert speaker at the National Fitness Expo, FILEX