The commonly held idea of being alert to risk often implies a state of tension or hypervigilance. But the opposite is true. Hypervigilance, or being on high alert, limits your ability to see what is really going on and is incredibly tiring. The ability to perceive risk is the ability to observe what is happening without dramatizing it, and to differentiate between what is real and imagined. This is a critical distinction to learn when traveling alone in unfamiliar locations, as being on high alert is just as dangerous as being blasé.
A perceived risk may simply be unfamiliar, while a low risk situation may still contain some dangers. Learning to perceive risks correctly involves slowing down your perceptions rather than speeding them up. You need to learn to read the tone and pacing of a situation, rather than relying on your assumptions about it. If you prepare properly you will have the perception to make proportionate decisions. This keeps you out of unnecessary danger, but also prevents you from exhausting yourself by perceiving every situation as dangerous.
Planning for risks effectively involves freeing up your mind to observe, rather than using it to control the situation. If you have planned properly, you will have thought through your basic needs, your backup plans and your personal limits. This means that when you are in a situation, you are not using your mind to try to control it, freeing you up to observe what is happening. When something changes, you will be able to adjust your plans without going into a panic about the change. This ability to perceive risk is an expression of trusting yourself, rather than responding to fear.
Another critical aspect of perceiving risk is managing your emotional state when you are feeling uncertain. When you are tired, lonely or overstimulated, you are likely to perceive higher levels of risk. This can distort your judgment, causing you to make impulsive decisions or overreact to situations. Learning to manage your emotional state and correctly perceive risk involves checking your internal state before responding to your external circumstances. If you are feeling overwhelmed, it may be better to have a rest or go and calm down before assessing what to do next.
Risk perception is an ability that develops over time. You don’t need to be in a state of high alert all of the time, but rather develop the ability to calmly move into risky situations. Your attitude to risk will change as you develop this ability, as you will begin to trust yourself to navigate uncertain situations, rather than relying on eliminating the uncertainty. This ability will make you feel more confident, not because you are willing to take risks, but because you trust yourself to navigate uncertain situations. Learning to perceive and manage risk is one of the greatest rewards of solo travel. It teaches you how to respond to challenging situations without going into a state of tension, and this is a lesson that you can carry with you for the rest of your life.
