Why Do They Do It?: The “Why” Behind Inappropriate Risk-Taking

While I am very interested in discovering how and why people motivate themselves to take reasonable and appropriate risks, in light of the events of the past week in which it was revealed that now-former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was involved in illegal activities involving high-priced prostitutes, I now have another burning question:

Why do they do it? Why would anyone take the chance of ruining everything they’ve worked for their whole lives, on something like this?

The most interesting thing is that Spitzer (dubbed “Mr. Clean” by the press) got into office for his crusades against white collar crime, insider trading and two other prostitution rings, while actually participating in it himself. In addition to the morality and other obvious charges, he may also be facing charges of money-laundering and conspiracy due to the way he structured payments to the call-girl in order to evade bank-reporting requirements.

So we come back to the question of WHY?

Some people have suggested it’s not about the sex, it’s about power and money…

Others say it’s not about anything but self-gratification and selfishness – and that they’re really not thinking of the risks involved – or anything or anyone else, for that matter.

Still others think that these individuals believe they’re above the law or immune to controversy and adverse consequences.

But a more intriguing suggestion has been posed that the danger and the risk are PRECISELY why they do it – they love the rush, the excitement and the thrill of doing something that pushes the envelope just so far, in order to see how far they can push it without getting caught.

The problem is that if you aren’t sure exactly where those boundaries are (and who is, when it comes to taking risks), the consequences of inappropriate risk – or risk for the wrong reason – can be dire, not only for you but for your loved ones as well.

Hopefully, most of us are taking reasonable and appropriate risks, for the right reasons – and we can learn a lot from the thoughts, actions and habits of people who do this; but without also examining the question of how and why people take inappropriate risks, I believe we’re missing a very important piece of the equation.

In this post, I invite your thoughts on why people take INappropriate risks, with possibly dire consequences:

What have you seen others do, or possibly done yourself, and WHY did they do it (or why do you think they did it)?