Dr Emily - The Risk of Avoiding Risk

4 snips

May 19, 2024

Dr Emily, Psychologist and expert in risk-taking behavior, discusses the importance of facing risks for a fulfilling life. She highlights how avoiding risks is the biggest risk of all, offering strategies to embrace risk. The podcast explores overcoming self-doubt in creativity, productivity in classical music, and the cultural impact of risk-taking. It delves into embracing discomfort for growth and making decisions aligned with personal values.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Seeing Clearly: A Fun Take on Glasses

01:39 • 4min

The Courage to Take Risks in Creativity

05:43 • 7min

Productivity and Success in Classical Music and Evolutionary Psychology

12:59 • 2min

Embracing Discomfort: The Key to Growth

14:58 • 8min

Embracing Risk and Personal Growth

23:20 • 15min

Embracing Discomfort

38:40 • 15min

Exploring the Choice Point in Decision Making and Values Alignment

53:41 • 2min

Navigating Discomfort to Live a Valued Life

55:36 • 2min

Taking a risk, by definition, is hard. A lot of us spend most of our life avoiding risks, under the assumption that it’s the ‘safe’ thing to do.

As Dr Em explains, we have an evolutionary instinct for self-preservation; tendencies to overestimate danger and underestimate our ability to cope; and we often have early childhood experiences and messages around safety that can coalesce into ‘playing it safe’ behaviours.

In this episode, Dr Em reveals that paradoxically, if we spend our whole life avoiding risk, then we are guaranteeing a less engaged, less fulfilling, less ‘lived’ life than we are capable of. That in fact, avoiding risk, is the biggest risk of all.

Dr Em, also offers strategies to guide us in the direction of letting a little more risk into our everyday lives.

To watch this full episode on YouTube, follow this link: https://bit.ly/4dMUP0l

There is a lot mentioned in this episode, find it all below:

🎧 Previous episodes of The Imperfects

Tim Minchin - Lucky To Be Here - https://apple.co/492kgsN
Adam Grant - The Potential of Your Potential - https://apple.co/3Z1E4Ix
Gina Chick - Don’t Fight Life - https://apple.co/3UKpxQ8
Pat Cummins - Love, Loss & Life - https://apple.co/4eHc4zJ
Martin “Rac” Heppell - The other F word…FAILURE - https://bit.ly/4fUkDIk

📺 Things to watch

Tim Minchin - Play it Safe https://bit.ly/44PnJc4
Moana - https://bit.ly/4bJZyy2

🎧 Things to listen to

How i work - Amantha Imber - https://bit.ly/3WNGxXw

📖 Things to read

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - https://bit.ly/3wE7nqm

🛒 Things to buy

The Resilience Project & Dr Em’s - 6 Month Wellbeing Journal https://bit.ly/3K8Z9cK

The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.