Many people have been nervously watching the progress of the virus these past weeks. We have all been confined to our homes and the message has been very clear, stay home to stay safe. But what happens next?
There is risk associated with daily life and even the most mundane of tasks. We have desensitised ourselves enough so that we can generally do these tasks without worrying about the possible alternative outcomes. The world in a pandemic, such as this, has to accept a higher level of risk in order to function. There is no way around it, each person will need to accept the government advice and, when we are finally allowed to, accept that not staying home is also ok. So how do you do that?
My military service taught me that acceptance of risk is a necessary evil, but also, that your approach to that risk is critical. It doesn’t mean you have to close your eyes and hope for the best (that’s called wishful thinking), it’s to fully open your eyes and acknowledge the possibilities and factors that might work against you. Once you’ve done this you can then decide the truth of the situation and act accordingly.
We use dynamic risk assessment in our Urban Adventure Attractions all the time. Our customers also look at what we do, the safety measures in place, the professionalism of our staff, the quality of our brand and probably a fair bit of googling other customer reviews. This is a risk assessment in itself and at the end of it the customer will decide if they accept the risk (and book) or that it isn’t for them this time.
We have all been exposed to a greater risk these past weeks. One aspect of exposure to risk is that you do gradually build an appetite (or acceptance) for more. Perhaps it’s desensitisation or the need for the next high bigger than the last but my feeling is that we will all emerge from this situation a little bolder than before and looking to live our lives to the full whilst we have the opportunity.