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Life is ultimately about 3 actionable questions: Where you live, what you do with it and who you share it with.
If you’re lucky in love and you meet your ‘partner’ in life at a very early age (say high school – college) you may feel as though you’re done and ready to focus on what you want to do.
I think we’re all wired to tolerate a certain level of risk. But even more so, how we’re raised impacts this tremendously. If your parents are conservative, chances are you’ll be too. If your parents bet the farm – you probably would too.
Let’s say you meet an amazing person. She/he has everything you could ever want. And you’re really happy with them. You’re extremely content! But you’re in high school or college. Or maybe just a few years out of college when you meet them.
This person becomes all you ever know. But just because you’re extremely close and comfortable with one another does that mean this person is for you?
How could you be 1000% certain when it comes to your significant other especially when you meet at such a young age?
And to be clear, I’m not saying you aren’t happy. But what if you could be even happier? You’ll never know. Or will you?
The person who thinks the grass is always greener would probably make an insanely hard decision and want to test the waters.
The more conservative person would probably fight through their thoughts and doubts and make the best of it.
Clearly, they are both risky but one is riskier.
You’d think single people are able to take more risks than married people. I’m curious to know whether someone who holds out for marriage until say their late 20’s or 30’s is a much bigger risk taker than the person who gets married in their early to mid 20’s.
Would a married person make different business decisions than a single person? Could the person who waited until later in life to get married be a lot more patient?
Most corporate bios include if the person is married and has children. Is it because marriage is a sign of stability?
But maybe getting married early can be a sign of impatience and being highly risk adverse?
In places where marriage happens at a young age is economic development the slowest? According to this link it is.
Could it be that places with an early age of marriage have less entrepreneurs?
Could your soul mate from college or high school be impeding your growth professionally?
Sometimes, married people take larger risks, because they always have a "constant" to fall back on if things don't work out.
It's risky to getting married in your 20's and it's risky to get married in your 30's. There is always risk involved. You could argue getting married later in life is riskier, especially if you want children. Legitimate arguments can be made either way. But marriage isn't really about how old you are. If you want to get married, get married, if not, then don't.
I have to say that I kind of see it the opposite way as Roger does. I think single people tend to make riskier decisions because the outcomes most likley effect primarily just them. On the other hand, anyone who is in a serious relationship, or especially has kids, is less likely to make these high risk decisions because they know that other people depend on them.
To be single, you are independent of (unless you rely heavily on your parents) having to ask anyone's opinions for large life decisions. As someone in a very serious relationship, I would not dream of quitting my job or getting up and moving or even making a large investment without the support and advice of my boyfriend.
This doesn't mean I'm not independent and that I don't make my own decisions. If in my heart I knew I needed to do something and my boyfriend did not support it, well I would probably still do it. However, as a single person their would be less holding me back to make these drastic changes.
Marriage has its pros and cons. If you're going to take a risk like moving to another city for a job, you have to consider your partner's position and if you have children, about uprooting them in the process. If you're not married, you can certainly have more flexibility in the pick-up-and-go arena. I agree with Jason, you can make a case either way really. It doesn't necessarily have to do with your marital status.
As a single person I'd say one of the greatest risks anyone can take is unabashadly trusting in, believing in, depending on and loving one person for the rest of time. Jobs, houses, base jumping...they involve risk but a very temporary one.
The biggest risks you take are the ones that lock you into a decision for the rest of your life (unless of course you fall into the side of a cliff while base jumping, that's probably pretty permanent too!)
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