Are you a Daring Diva?

[SnowHot]

After living a somewhat timid childhood, I have found a lot of new exciting things to try in adult hood.
I'm the girl who likes to try new things............after all, how do I know if I will like it if I don't try it.

There is, however a line I don't seem to cross, that is a line of risky business.

Since my nephew was old enough to say, "c'mon Aunt Tricia, you can do it if I can do it" I have found myself trying a few new things that I used to think were risky, thus, my Risk Reasoning, has changed a bit, and yet, I'm not really a dare devil.

How about you? Do you take risks? Or, do you just try new experiences without crossing that line into risky business?

I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

 

[ski now work later]

I think this is what draws me to the terrain park -- the risk/thrill of the movement. Besides, it's as close as I can get to dancing when I'm on skis and I love to dance.

 

[altagirl]

It depends. Most people who know me tell me I'm "crazy" for doing all the "risky" things I do. (Mainly racing DH mountain bikes, but also the off-road motorcycling, skiing, etc.) And I used to take a lot more risks, but I don't feel like I take many risks lately. My knees just don't tolerate it anymore - I've had my knee pop out and lock up three times this summer and I'm afraid to do things where I might have to jump off my bike to the side and have a big drop. And I'm sick to death of having knee surgery.

And I feel like quite a wuss. But I'm still learning things and improving. I probably doubled my cornering speed this summer. And I learned to manual (which involved flipping over backwards a few times...) And I've won a few DH races, so I'm still pushing myself. But I've refused to try a few things that I would have done in the past and it bugs me. Anyway, I definitely need a push lately. But this weekend I did hit a stunt that I really didn't want to try the first time I saw it, but I got myself to do it and hit it half a dozen times after that. So I guess it's not like I'm not taking risks at all.

 

[Jilly]

Like altagirl, alot of people think I'm nuts too. I will ski anything once, maybe not well and maybe not again, but once. I trust my abilities and know when to say NO WAY. At the moment there is only one run at Tremblant that I haven't tried and mostly because of conditions. As for the summer I like the silent sports of canoe or kayak. But we do have sea-doo's and there is nothing like the rush of speed over flat water. 700 pound machine doing 60mph and it's only 4 x 8'. Then you look down at the water going by and say - If I hit that, its going to hurt!! So your inner self says slow down. Caution is always good too!!

 

[Lilgeorg]

What's a risk? Since Lola was 14 we have been taking "risks" as a family. It started with white water rafting and moved on from there. We have tried lots of things that others would say were risky. But whether it is hang gliding or skiing or any thing else, if you start with some instruction you lower the risk. By the time you are good at it, others may say you are taking risks but you know your own limits. As a family, we have tried to expand our comfort zones rather than contract them. It's one of our values. So we learned to ski at 45, hang glide at 50, kayak at 55, take small aircraft flights to the top of Mt Mckinley at 60, and hike glaciers at 65! Its a great life.

 

[Ski Spirit]

Lilgeorg- It's never too late, is it? What a great outlook; thanks for posting.

 

[tradygirl]

As the years have gone by, I've gone from a "do anything, screw the consequences" attitude to a more conservative approach. After many injuries, I've decided it's better to have fun at a lower level and stay healthy than constantly be in recovery for stupid injuries. It just gets so much harder to recover the older you get! It's possible to still challenge yourself safely. I'm still rock climbing, BC skiing, and mountain biking, and I still push myself to improve, just not at the expense of serious injury. I would die if I couldn't do this stuff anymore!

 

[Marigee]

I'm in the middle. I like trying new things and pushing myself but I worry more about injuries now than I did when I was younger.

 

[SnowHot]

What's a risk? ............... As a family, we have tried to expand our comfort zones rather than contract them. It's one of our values. So we learned to ski at 45, hang glide at 50, kayak at 55, take small aircraft flights to the top of Mt Mckinley at 60, and hike glaciers at 65! Its a great life.

Growing up, we had a ton of fun, and my house was always known as the place where all the kids hung out and had fun. Fun! but not adventurous, in the extreme sports sense.
When I began dating my husband he started exposing me to skiing, dirtbiking, and waterskiing. I have had a deep desire to try new "stuff" every since, to a point where, expanding my comfot zone comes more naturally to me and holding back seems foreign.
*I owe a lot to my husband for nurturing this part of me.

I'm in the middle. I like trying new things and pushing myself but I worry more about injuries now than I did when I was younger.

This is funny to me because, the older I get the more challenging stuff I try. I'm not sure that I'm a risk taker in the true sense, but I feel like I'm wasting time if I don't take chances and sample all that life has to offer me.

 

[Kimmyt]

I will take risks, and love it, but mostly I need a bit of a shove. If I look too long down that double black run, I may just turn around. If I look for a second and go, I can get down it, but it may take some time. And sometimes I'll do things I should never have, like bumble my way down a double black bump run, the whole time swearing that i'll never do that again. It helps when The Boy tells me he thinks I can do it, and I love that he's honest, in that in some situations he'll say he thinks I might struggle with it. I trust his opinion, and when he is behind me it gives me what extra I need to go for it.

But I still have fun, and take those risks. The fear of getting injured is always there, but the way I look at it, if I can get injured crossing a street, I'm not going to focus on whether I might possibly break my foot on while skiing. If I do, I'll be housebound from fear in no time. I don't want to get hurt, so I take what precautions I can, but I'm not going to limit my own activity in order to stay safe.

 

[cyn]

I guess it depends on your perspective. Many of my friends and family think I'm a huge risk-taker, but I consider myself somewhere in the middle. I'm not going to do something that will probably result in my being injured.
Having said that, I do like a little danger, because it keeps me on my toes and forces me to concentrate 100% on what I'm doing. Aside from skiing, I scuba dive, and I have owned two motorcycles (which drove my family nuts). I've also hang glided, piloted ultra light airplanes, and jumped off rocky cliffs into a lake.
Most of the people I know are extremely conservative when it comes to taking risks in sports. For instance, I bought some in line skates a couple of months ago, and people would not stop telling me about all the horrible skating accidents they'd heard about.
I think if you're well-trained in a sport, sensible, and paying attention, you should go for it - and I do! Good thing I married someone who feels the same way....

 

[lisaski]

I don't know if I would call myself a "risk taker". However, I definitely strive to put myself out of my comfort zone over and over again. I both hate and love that feeling of butterflies in my stomach when I'm looking down a very steep narrow chute. Once, while visiting Whistler, I kept looking at a run that was below a four foot cornice. It was a very steep double black. No one was skiing it at all. The snow conditions were great and it had a northern exposure. So, I knew it wouldn't be icey. The toughest part was getting off the cornice and down into the run. I found that I could side-slip on a portion of the cornice that didn't hava an overhang. While side-slipping, one of the straps on my poles slipped out of my hand and my pole slid down the steep incline. So, there I was with that oh sh*t butterfly feeling and only one pole at the top of a super steep coulior with exposed rock on one side of the run out. UGH! I psyched myself into pretending I had two poles and did pole plant motions with my pole-less arm. I made it down to my other pole fairly easily and was able to execute nice smooth turns. Anyway, I feel that I increase my comfort zone with every experience like that.

 

[ski diva]

Let me put it this way: I'm comfortable enough in my own skin to pass on something I think is a little too risky. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

At this stage in my life, I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. I'm in it to have fun. And if I look at something and I don't think it'll be fun -- and to me, that could be something I consider too risky -- then I will gladly pass it by.

That said, there's a great thrill in conquering something I didn't think I had it in me to do. I tried tree skiing this year for the first time, and loved it. So what do I know.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

I'm a definite risk taker. I think I have that risk gene. I find that age hasn't changed anything about my propensity to take risks. The only challenge now is finding companions to do things with!

 

[abc]

Ha! My favorate topic!!! :D Thanks, SnowHot!

I don't consider myself a true "risk taker" but those around me thought otherwise.;)

Am I a risk taker? I suppose so. But I prefer to call myself "good at risk management"!

Because I believe "if you never failed, you haven't even come close to reaching your limit!"

In short, life has been wasted, to whatever degree.

But my Mom would counter: "so what if I never reach my full potential? I'm having such a good life after all!"

????

It turns out, that's pretty much the two motos I live by. I would take risk if there's a perceived reward, and the chance of reward is larger than the risk.

Call it "risk management". Managing the fun/pain ratio!!! ;)
_______________________________________________

Having said that, it's not always intuittive whether a particular risk is worth taking or not. So I need a nudge here and there.

More importantly, risk can be "managed" with knowledge, skill, experience, and more. Take for example, skiing back country. It's risky. People had died in avalanches, from getting lost, getting stuck by minor injury that turn life threatening etc. But if I learn the skill to read the terrain, have the equipment to survive, and ski with people who are prepared, the risk can be mitigated considerably.

Am I a daring diva? If it means embracing danger and getting a rush/high? YES!!! I also love the preparation, the study, and the acquiring and perfecting of neccessary skills to deal with the danger, too! It's part and parcel of the whole "fun" of adventure/outdoor sport.

But if it's something that might kill me or mame me, in such a way that no skill and preparation can mitigate? NO WAY.

So, I can see myself going down calss V rapids -- when my skill reach that level. But I don't see myself climbing Mt. Everest ever. It's too "risky"! ;)

 

[SnowHot]

I should have had one of the options:
Adventure seeker for sure, but not necessarily a risk seeker.
That is the best way to describe me, at this stage of my life.

 

[ski diva]

I should have had one of the options:
Adventure seeker for sure, but not necessarily a risk seeker.
That is the best way to describe me, at this stage of my life.

Hear, hear!!!!! Well put!

I second that!

 

[ISki]

Let me put it this way: I'm comfortable enough in my own skin to pass on something I think is a little too risky. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

At this stage in my life, I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. I'm in it to have fun. And if I look at something and I don't think it'll be fun -- and to me, that could be something I consider too risky -- then I will gladly pass it by.

Same here.

 

[Sheena]

I really admire people who push themselves to the limit. I wish I had that kind of confidence. I love and adventure, but my fear of serious injury keeps me from pushing myself too far.

It is intersting that I read this thread, and was going to post something yesterday, then I was over on TGR and there was an old thread that was bumped where peope were posting their injuries. THAT is the stuff that keeps me from doing really risky things.

 

[altagirl]

I really admire people who push themselves to the limit. I wish I had that kind of confidence. I love and adventure, but my fear of serious injury keeps me from pushing myself too far.

It is intersting that I read this thread, and was going to post something yesterday, then I was over on TGR and there was an old thread that was bumped where peope were posting their injuries. THAT is the stuff that keeps me from doing really risky things.

I don't mind the stitches and scars and bruises and soreness. Even a broken bone doesn't sound too bad (I've never had one - my ligaments always seem to give out before the bones break). It's the long term degenerative injuries that hold me back now. When I was younger - like mid-twenties, I somehow thought that's what all injuries were. And now that I have knees that just plain don't work like they used to... I'm a little more hesitant.

One of the DH races (biking) that I did recently had a line that wasn't too bad to ride, but the consequences if you missed it were awful. One of the girls (who kicks butt) kept going for it - and supermanned off the cliff (onto a pile of rocks). Luckily it was nothing but bumps and bruises, but I'm not sure my knees could have taken it, and it could have been a lot worse. She got back up and did it again - and I'm totally familiar with that. I went off an 8' drop on my bike once, and landed on my head the first time. When I was contemplating doing it, I had this "I'll die if I wreck here" thought in my head. And then once I realized I'd uh... "only" end up with a concussion and a bunch of bruises and soreness... I went up and did it again the next day and landed it just fine.

I guess what's changed for me is that I used to look at injuries as something where I'd just have to ride through the pain. Now I see it as surgery and 6 months of nothing but physical therapy and I do think twice before doing some of those things.