Not taking any risks is far riskier than you think

As a very shy and introvert person, I don't talk much. I'm one of those people that talks 20% and listens 80% of the time. I've always told myself that listening is better than talking, because if you listen you can learn.

The safe path for me would be to listen as much as I can. The riskier path would be to talk more, because I might say something stupid.

But there's one thing that often goes unnoticed. Choosing the safe path can also carry risk. Sometimes a far greater risk than the risk you're trying to avoid.

An example of this would be investing in stocks. You might think it's risky. After all, you could lose money. But not investing is also risky, because you're missing out on compound interest, which Albert Einstein called the eight wonder of the world. "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it."

Or, on a more personal note, starting a blog. It's scary. I could say something stupid. What will people think?

The easy path would be to never start in the first place. Can't make a fool of myself if I don't put myself out there. But then the world will never hear my thoughts, stories and ideas. Who knows how many people are out there that would want to listen to what I have to say?

Not starting the blog could be a massive missed opportunity. That risk could potentially be far greater than the risk of saying something stupid every now and then.

What I have come to realize is, the real risk for me is not to say something stupid. It's to say nothing at all.