Calculations are Key

The premise of this prompt seems to be that you will just dive into a situation and have no real plan or idea, just hope for the best. The approach needed is the one my wife has taken throughout our time together. You need to calculate all the possibilities and look at whether you can recover if your risk doesn’t work out.

The perfect example is my decision to quit full time work, which I have posted about frequently on here. I never thought it would be possible, and I was worried that it would be too big a risk. Janet sat down and calculated both best case and worst case scenarios. She put all of the calculations on paper, and she looks at the calculations every month or so to ensure that things are still on track. The result has been that I have been able to do something that seems to be very risky, particularly to some on the outside, but which is absolutely right for my physical and mental health. If Janet had said at any point that I would not be able to give up year round work then that would have been that.

Our entire married life has worked on that basis with me suggesting ‘big picture’ ideas and Janet analysing them. We spent 3 years in Japan with small children. I did a degree in Australia and Janet calculated the amount of money it would cost. It was just possible so I did it but that was definitely a big financial risk right there. We had to look at whether it would pay off down the track, which it did to some extent, but to take into account the precarious nature of EFL and EAP teaching which proved to be very useful.

At every point we knew what we would have to give up to make things work. I had to give up drinking alcohol and we had to give up going out for evenings together in order to keep the finances under control for about 7 years in total. Always know what you are going to have to give up to make something work, otherwise a risk could end up being a disaster.

So, take those risks but never fail to calculate them and be sensible about which of them you can actually embark on in the knowledge that you are cushioned from the worst effects of the risk back firing.