Be More Daring

Can You Be More Daring Without Stepping on Others?

When we become more daring, we take ourselves to new places we never dreamed of going. It could be skydiving for the first time, or doing something you would not have ever done. Maybe you finally hit your boss up for a raise. But, in the process of becoming more daring, can you do so without stepping on others?

Not everyone will become daring at the same time. Some people will never take steps to become more daring. If you are one who decides to throw caution to the wind, how will you go about it?

For instance, suppose you decide you want a promotion at work. There is one up for grabs. Many people will stop at nothing to get the promotion. But, should you participate in unethical behavior to gain an advantage over those other people? You have to ask if you will feel the same about yourself if you do. How will those other people feel if you stepped on them to get that promotion? They will likely mistrust you, which can make it difficult for them to work with you. If they are good workers, you risk losing them if they move on.

This is not to say you should yield to others. You have as much right as anyone else to go for the promotion, or whatever you are striving. It’s okay to be competitive. Just do so in a way which you can live with yourself and others will be happy about your success.

Unfortunately, we live in a society where trampling others seems to be seductive. You see movies like Wall Street and believe that greed is good and other such idioms. Bear in mind, in the movie, the main characters ended up getting in trouble with the law. The key is you don’t need to be ruthless to succeed. There are plenty of examples of successful people who made their way in legitimate and ethical ways.

Being daring does not necessarily mean doing anything you want without regard to others. You always have to consider your actions and weigh them against how others will view you. We need people to succeed so you never know how it can come back to haunt you when you don’t treat people right. People remember bad experiences and they always have a way of returning to us. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around.

Be More Daring: What Do You Have to Lose?

We like to feel safe. It’s a normal human feeling. However, being safe can also limit meeting new people or branching out into more exciting experiences. Sometimes, you have to take the plunge and be more daring.

When you are at a party, are you one to go right up to people and introduce yourself? Many people let others take the initiative. But, you will also find people who will be the first to make introductions. Why are they willing to do it and you are not?

You have to look at every situation you face with the question, what do you have to lose? What is the worst that can happen if you reach out to someone? Some people will not appreciate it as they are introverted themselves. But, on the whole, you will find most people welcome the engagement. We are social beings, after all.

One great way to start is to have friends introduce you. This has the benefit of using that person as a buffer should the conversation fade. He or she can add to information to the conversation that can help move it along.

Put yourself into more situations where you need to interact with others. There are plenty of social events that you can participate in. This is even easier with online access to events. A simple search in your favorite search engine will bring up several results. You can add them to your schedule accordingly.

As you do this more, you will find that you won’t be relying on others for help. You will strike up your own conversations. In turn, you will make more friends. Not everyone you interact with will become friends. But, just the nature of getting yourself out there more, will increase your chances of making friends.

It’s not just friendships you will gain. You are also increasing your business networking reach. This will help you when you are looking for work or increasing business. It’s much easier to call upon known people than to reach out to strangers. To do this effectively, make sure you stay connected with the people you meet. If you never speak to people after initial contact, over time, it will be the same as interacting with strangers, should you reach out to them again.

As you get involved in reaching out to people, you’ll find that it is less daring and just becomes common practice. You will be rewarded with an increase in friends and a larger network.

Being Daring Is About Having Confidence

If you want to be more daring, try starting out with being confident. If you ask several people what it means to be confident, you’ll likely get a wide variety of answers. People have visions

in their head about what confidence means and often it is attributable to a type of person. For instance, many people think that people who are tall are confident. What do you think when the term comes to mind?

While we may have preconceived notions as to who we feel are confident people, confidence is more about attitude and conviction. You’ll find plenty of people who fall outside those preconceived notions all the time.

Confidence is also about repetition. For instance, if you continually use affirmations about yourself, your confidence is likely to increase over time. The key is to use them consistently.

Confidence becomes a type of feedback loop. When you become more confident, people will latch onto that and react in a positive way. This reinforces what you have done and you will continue to do it.

While confidence is a good trait to have, it’s important not to overdo it. You don’t want to come across as cocky and conceited. This will turn people off and your efforts to be more confident will be shunted.

It does take some daring to be confident because it’s easier not to be this way. When we gain confidence, it may require that your actions take you outside your comfort zone. It may even bring you to taking stands that are not popular and may be controversial. You want to be liked, but sometimes confidence allows us to do the right thing, even if everyone won’t be happy about it.

What you will find as you gain your confidence is you’ll dare to live a better life. Make no mistakes, your life will change. People will be more drawn to you and you will get more done with their help. You will also get what you want more often. It’s exciting and scary at the same time. But, it will be satisfying in the long run.

There will be some people that try to bring you down. When people recognize that you are confident, it has the potential to threaten their world. Your confidence may cause them to step outside their own comfort zone and not everyone is ready for that. However, you have to live your own life and not worry too much if those people are affected by your changes.

Being Daring Can Lead to More Risks

Kids seem to have no fear. They seem willing to try anything. This is the learning process for them. They eventually learn that there are consequences to their actions. Hopefully, they get through their childhood with only a few bruises and scratches along the way.

Sometimes, when adults become daring, they take on much higher risks than they should. It can especially happen to people who tended to be reserved most of their lives. They try a few daring moves that work out, and they suddenly believe they can tackle anything. They take the attitude of “bring it on!”

Just like the kids who seem to have no fear, the newfound daring among adults can be a dangerous game to play. A bigger problem is they don’t usually have parents to reign them in. They take chances that can put themselves and their family in danger. The danger does not have to be physical. It can be financial or even emotional.

Most people should take more risks in life, but that doesn’t mean they should take any risk that comes their way. For instance, it may be fun to bet on horses once-in-a-while. Making a career out of it, however, is probably not the best decision one could make. Some may argue it can be done but overall, many find it a losing proposition.

Another situation people find themselves in as they get older is when entering the dating scene once again. This could be due to divorce or a loss of a spouse. It’s been a while since the person dated, and the person may not engage in safe sex practices. This can lead to dire consequences of contracting diseases for which there are no cures. When the person was young, they may not have been subjected to the constraints that exist with dating, so they take on those extra risks.

There are many reasons why people may take on these excessive risks. It could be a mid-life crisis or any number of other factors. It’s important to keep the focus on what’s important in life and realize, just as the kids had to, that there are consequences for your actions. It can be fun to branch out into a different direction at a later stage of life, but we need to do so without taking on too much risk that puts us into situations that we can’t later reverse.

Be Daring and Stand Up to Others

Were you ever bullied as a child? If so, it could be something that you carry with you into your adult years. You may yield to those who bark louder, so to speak. But, there are times when you need to stand your ground. These are the times to be daring and stand up to others.

You may feel like you are an easygoing person. There’s nothing wrong with that. If you are a person who would defer to others because you don’t want to make waves, this can be okay, in the right circumstances. But, if you do this all the time, you eventually will get trampled on with more important issues.

You do need to pick your battles. If you become the stronger person in your group, you run the risk of becoming bully-like yourself. In fact, this is something that can happen when people stand up to others for the first time. They take on the strong-willed persona and become that person they used to fear. The key is to be strong when it’s important and let the little stuff go by.

Also, let others have some wins. This shows strength and leadership. You will win people to your way of thinking as they won’t feel threatened by your presence. When you show your willingness to cede to them, you can develop a great working relationship going forward.

When you do take a stand, make sure that you do it respectfully. If you don’t, you risk losing respect from everyone around and not just the person you are going up against. Whenever possible, try to find an arrangement where both you and the other party wins. The person will see that they can’t take advantage of you, while at the same time, they don’t lose out in the interaction.

Not everyone will take your newfound strength well. That’s okay. As long as you do everything you can to try and work with them, you will be the bigger person. He or she may have issues with you, but at least they know you aren’t willing to back down on the bigger issues. You also will find people need time and may come around after a while. Your relationship won’t be the same, but that could be for the best.

Try to keep anger out of the picture because it makes people react in ways they later regret. It’s okay to be firm when dealing with others, but there’s no reason to elevate the situation to the point where you start getting personal.