Taking Risks

I was thinking about risk-taking this morning on my drive to work. While I am not a risktaker, as I've mentioned before, everytime I have taken a risk it has always turned out for the better.
So why am I always so scared?

For example, I remember when I moved to New Jersey and missed out on a beautiful house I wanted to buy because I was scared of purchasing a house that cost more than my husband and I had planned to spend. I was not as experienced with owning my own home, since I grew up in an apartment and was used to apartment living even after I graduated from college and moved back into the city. In hindsight, it was a price I probably could have afforded and if I had bought that original house, it would be worth much more today and I never would have needed to move. I blamed it on the fact that the owners would not budge on the price and I thought that you were never supposed to pay the asking price on the house. In reality, I think I used that excuse to cover up my fears.

Thirteen years later, I took a risk the second time around...when we decided we wanted to move. We wanted a ranch house all on one floor because my husband has trouble climbing stairs. The realtor showed us houses that were above our price range...as they always do. This time I was also wiser and more experienced. I knew what I had missed out on before and was more willing to take a risk. So, when I fell in love with a house that the realtor showed me I knew I had to bite quickly. It was more than I wanted to spend and I was afraid, but I did it. I went ahead anyway. Even better...nine years later and the house has almost doubled in price and I have been able to make the payments every month. Now, my goal is to pay off my house by the time I turn 55...it sounds so far away, but that's because I'm only 49!

When we get to 50 are we able to take more calculated risks because we are wiser and we know more? Or for those like me, does it get harder because we get more set in our ways?

Judi