Take, for example, how much money we have. The rich do not think of sports cars as unobtainable – more as a suggestion of what might look nice on their driveway. Their wealth in part shapes their view of the world and how they live in it.
If taking risks is a part of the personality of the rich, it will be a relatively normal experience in their everyday engagement with the world.
But research has also shown that personality isn’t set in stone – it changes over a lifetime in response to experiences. For example, a new life experience, such as moving away to university or having a child, may alter your worldview in such a way that your personality and the way you interact with the world change.
If you take a lot of risks in your everyday life, this becomes a reflection of what makes you who you are – boosting your risk-taking personality trait, which leads to more risk-taking experiences, and so on. This may explain why many rich people end up becoming risk-takers, whether it is in their genes or not.
LIVING AN AUTHENTIC LIFE?
Rich people may view risk-taking rather differently from those of us, like me, who regard ourselves as risk-averse.
Dangerous activities for me are far from my own personality. So, when I do find myself engaging in something potentially risky, outside my normal habitus experience, I feel very uncomfortable.
For the risk-averse, “living life to the full” does not require base-jumping or free-climbing – these things are inconsistent with their experience.
By this logic, it makes sense that the rich engage in risky experiences. Driving fast cars, skiing and skydiving are normal expressions of this sort of risk acceptance for a lot of people. But if you’re very rich, even more extreme examples of very dangerous experiences open up, which may ultimately help them live an authentic life – being true to who they are.
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