Balancing The Risks and Benefits

    Risks and Benefits

If a person makes the decision to drive 75 miles per hour instead of the speed limit, 65 miles per house, the person takes a risk. A person who drives faster than the speed limit might get pulled over by a police officer. 

The risk is a person could get a traffic ticket for going over the speed limit. The ticket could cost a lot of money. A person who goes over the speed limit could lose their license and go to jail. 

However, going faster also comes with a reward. The person who goes faster, 70 mph, or 75 mph, might get home faster and not have to spend a lot of time on the road. If the person gets home faster and does not get pulled over by a police officer, the person gets the benefit of getting home at 5:00pm instead of 6:00pm. 

Another example of risks and benefits would be eating pizza when a person feels a little sick three or four hours later. For example, my mother loves to eat pizza, but she feels sick a few hours later. The benefit of eating pizza is that she enjoys eating it. The risk is that if she does not drink enough water after eating pizza, she will feel a little sick. 

I like to drink coffee. In the morning when I am tired, I drink a big cup of coffee. The benefit of drinking coffee is that I will be awake during the day. I will not be sleepy. However, the risk of drinking a lot of coffee or too much coffee is that I will be up all night and cannot sleep. It is also a risk because I have to use the bathroom a lot more and leave the class two or three times when teaching. I have to balance the benefits, staying awake and having energy for school, with the risks, having to go to the bathroom and being awake at night. 

I have never eaten frog legs before. Frog legs look the same as chicken wings. I do not know what they taste like. The risks and benefits of trying frog legs could be, I do not like them. If the frog legs cost $10 and I do not like them, I risk spending money, ten dollars, on something I do not eat. The benefit of eating frog legs is I will know if I like or do not like them. If I like them, I benefit from the risk I took when buying the frog legs.