Risky Business

Tennyson hit the nail on the head when he propesized "It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all".

But does this philosophy hold true across matters other than love?

In the Tom Cruse starrer 'Risky Business',Joel finds out the hard way that a few bad decisions can lead to all kinds of problems and possibly ruin your future.
However I can happily vouch that it is 'better to have made impromptu travel plans and failed than to never have come up with any wild ideas' :D

From falling in love to seeking a career change, research shows that the more you take risks the more content you will be.

According to Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty "Taking the easy path is playing safe and that never gives you the hapinness that taking a risk and succeeding does".
Well what about the few hundred billion individuals that I know who are extremely happy without having attempted anything remotely risky?What about the content few who are already on the path of nirvana. Is this exclusive 'hapinnes' that risky adventures have in store, meant only for the crazy few who need to dip into uncharted waters to get that extra high?

Research goes onto show that
1)Tall people are more prepared to take risks than short ones.
I have always agreed with this very obvious logic.However, I just need to convince everyone else that I do not fall in the 'short ones' category.

2)Women are more carefull than men.
No one can even possibly dream about questioning this cardinal rule.

3)Children of more eductated parents are more likely to take risks.
As long as risk is defined as 'calculated/intelligtent risk'.Otherwise this seems counter-intutive.

4)Smokers are more willing to take risks than non smokers.
Given that the world is divided in active smokers and passive smokers, this statement is definitely null and void.

5)A habitual risk taker will in probability marry a person with similar traits.
We normally talk about divisions in terms of geography, caste, age, gender etc.Charactarestics that can be very quickly verified.However, a 'risk' taker is not very easy to indentify by sight.
Would life be easier for countless couples who have had a rather unhappy fallout if they knew their risk aversion levels from day 1?

Also,if risk takers marry only other risk takers, society will get neatly divided in two groups based on appetite for risk.And indeed, risk taking is considered a family trait!!! So, even though end of the day we all might be able to break the social norms and marry who we want, our internal programming will ensure we follow certain genetic laws.
Talk about free will!!