 If you look closely at the world today, you will observe that a lot of people are afraid to take risks. They would rather play safe than move out of their comfort. But as the old saying goes, the greatest risk in life is not taking any risk at all. So in this video, I will share with you 7 risks you should take every day. 1. Being real in front of others. Do you fear what people will see about you if you show them who you are? Are you scared that they may not like you? Well, the truth about life is that you don't need everyone to like you. You are a piece of art, and not everyone is going to see your beauty. Ultimately, it is your opinion of yourself that matters, and if someone doesn't like it, it is not your fault. This does not mean that your idea about yourself is always correct. Of course, someone can always point out the truth. It only means that you are truly living. Many times, individuals become people-pleasers just so that everyone will love and hang out with you. Every day, you must take the risk of being your true self in all situations. The truth is that your value doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth. It does when you don't allow people to see you for who you are. So be careful to not give so much of yourself to others that you end up completely losing yourself. In the end, you alone can decide to become better. 2. Helping others without having expectations. As American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it, The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. Happiness doesn't come through selfishness, but through selflessness. The good thing about nature that many people fail to understand is that everything you do comes back around, be it good or bad. But then, the rewards tend to delay when you expect them. So as you go about your daily life, learn to give out love without expecting it to be reciprocated. Give more to people who cannot return the favor presently. Giving is not just limited to money or material things. Smile to those who may not be able to smile back at you. Encourage people who do not have the right words of encouragement to give to you. The more happiness you help others find in life every day, the more joy you will find. 3. Taking full responsibility for your happiness. A lot of people tend to believe that happiness is free. But the practical truth about life is that happiness is not free. It comes with a price. As we go through life, we tend to place our happiness on certain factors, both external and internal. It may be from putting a smile on other people's face. It may be passing an examination or even winning a jackpot. However way, remember, happiness comes from your own choices and actions. So whatever you may have placed your happiness on, you must be ready to take full responsibility and embrace it, even when it does not bring as much joy as you desire. The more you take responsibility for your happiness, the more you understand that the things that can make a person happy aren't hard to find. Stop blaming others for what you have or don't have, or for what you feel or don't feel. Happiness is a choice and you alone can make that choice. So when you step out, determine to be happy and be ready to accept the full result of whatever makes you happy. 4. What are the consequences for your actions? How do you react when you make a mistake? Do you own up to it, or do you look for the nearest person or situation to blame it on? One fact about life that many people feel to understand is that the more you take responsibility for your past and present, the more you can create the future you seek. But when you blame others for what you are going through, you deny responsibility and perpetuate the problem. Blaming is just another sorry excuse, and making excuses is the first step towards both misery and failure. You and only you are responsible for decisions. Some consequences may not be pleasant, but every day you must take the risk of facing them. After all, results are nearby products of action. When you take consequences for your efforts, you'll learn more and become a better person. 5. Being vulnerable to being hurt? As you grow up, you will learn that even the person who wasn't supposed ever to let you down probably will in some small way. You'll have your heart broken probably more than once. You too will inadvertently break some hearts, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You will occasionally argue with your closest friends. You cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you thought you couldn't live without. These are the realities of life, and the best way to experience them is with an open heart. Many people tend to see vulnerability as weakness, but then, being vulnerable takes courage, and only a few people are bold enough to open their hearts and become defenseless. You may assume that shutting your heart to every form of pain is the best way to live. On the contrary, going through life with a closed heart is equivalent to not living at all. American novelist Chuck Polonyak once said, The only way to find true happiness in life is to risk being completely caught open. Nothing could be closer to the truth. Anybody capable of living and loving is bound to get hurt at some point, but that's a risk that's well worth the reward. The result is a life filled with honesty and love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt. Don't be afraid that your days will end in pain. Be afraid they will never begin with honesty and love. Life is too short to let it pass by. Take the risk and be open. 6. Taking the Lonely Road Not until I was true with my university education, I never realized what the poem, The Road Less Traveled, by Robert Frost meant. Of course, I knew the poem, each line and every word, but I couldn't place a meaning to those words. The road less traveled is a scary road to take. Previous footsteps haven't worn in it, so getting lost is a cinch. The brush has never been trimmed nor tended to, so you're likely to get caught in a branch and stuck in places for a while. The road less traveled haven't yet been mapped out, and therefore, the only thing you have to go on in hopes of reaching your destination is your intelligence, your logic, perseverance, and a bit of luck. However, the road less traveled has much richer plunders. Your risk is never getting there, but once you do, it is well worth your trouble. In your daily life, one thing you should do is to dare to be different. Don't be conformed by the norm. Instead, seek the right path and follow it, although you are most likely going to travel alone because it is much easier to go with the crowd. In the end, it pays to follow the road less traveled. 7. Admitting that you don't know It is quite baffling that many individuals would prefer to remain ignorant than attest to the fact that they don't know something. Come to think of it, what do you even stand to lose if you admit that you don't know something? Will your friends make fun of you? Or your pride? At that moment, you may feel embarrassed about not knowing something, but after you have been informed, there is nothing to be ashamed about. There is a very fine line between knowing and not knowing. For example, one second you may know absolutely nothing about a topic, and then two minutes later, after someone explains something to you, you instantly know something new. Imagine how fast it took for you to transcend from knowing to not knowing. Knowledge is the easiest thing to accumulate, but only if you ask questions. If you want to grow, then you risk admitting that you don't know. Risk-taking is a fundamental part of a good life. Going through life without taking risk is just like existing without actually living. The successful men you see in the world today are those who take this little risk every day.