Worth the Risk The Seven Myths That Keep Us from Taking the Chances We Need to Take

Why fear of risk is holding us back, and how we can reclaim the confidence to thrive in unpredictable times

“Living means dealing with risk. Yet most of us don’t know how to think about the cosmic roulette that governs our choices, from the trifling to the existential. That includes policymakers, who must trade off risk and reward in their own decisions and in the incentives they provide to citizens. Allison Schrager explains the history, logic, politics, and psychology of risk in a book that is fascinating, timely, and practical.”

Steven Pinker, Harvard University

Something is out of sync in today's economy. People feel insecure and unable to reach their potential. They worry that the world has become too risky, that investing is only for the rich, or that their nest egg might not last. But in Worth the Risk (September 22, 2026 publication date/ Yale University Press) economist Allison Schrager argues that—despite our society’s current risk-aversion—there has never been a better time to take risks.

Schrager explains how the fears surrounding risk are unfounded—and identifies 7 central myths that exemplify exactly why so many are falling behind. She pinpoints them as:

1. The World is Getting Riskier
2. You Take More Risks Than Your Parents
3. You Shouldn’t Take Risks Unless You’re Rich
4. We All Know What “Safe” Means
5. We’re Bad at Risk-Taking
6. You are Too Old to Take Risks
7. Risk is All or Nothing

Schrager then goes on to debunk each myth, showing through a mixture of quantification and real-life examples, why we should challenge and push past these preconceptions.

Blending economic history and behavioral science, Schrager traces how our understanding and tolerance of risk have changed—how we have become less willing to open a business, start a family, or even drive a car. In the meantime, the very wealthy are still taking risks that generate outsized rewards and widen economic divides.

Along the way, she reveals the secrets of unconventional risk-takers, including a mob hit man from John Gotti Jr.’s crime organization, America’s last frontiersman, a high-wire walker, and more.

In Worth the Risk, Schrager explains how to assess uncertainty, make better choices, and reclaim the upside of risk, allowing each of us to contribute to a more dynamic economy—and to live a more fulfilling life.

Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a regular columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is the author of An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk. She is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, and has written for or appeared in media outlets including The Economist, City Journal, Foreign Affairs, Wired, National Review, and more.

7 Risk-Taking Takeaways
From Allison Schrager’s WORTH THE RISK

1. Maintain a healthy perspective: The downside to risk-taking is probably not as bad as you think, because the world has never been safer. Odds are you will bounce back even if a risk goes badly.
2. Pick the right risks. Not all risk taking is equal, there is a big difference between investing in the S&P 500 and betting your life savings at the Superbowl. Knowing what risks to take is a skill many of us no longer have and it is getting harder. We need to take the ones that are meaningful to us and have a chance of getting us what we want. 
3. The right time to start taking more risk is now, not when you've saved more money.  You'll never have everything in place for a perfect risk-taking scenario. But we can benefit from more risk-taking at every age and no matter our bank balance. 
4. Defne safety for yourself.  Only you know what makes you feel safe. This can help you feel more secure taking risks that are right for you, even if they seem crazy to others. 
5. Have faith in your instincts. Humans are born for risk-taking. In the big data age, our instincts are still often right—even if the modern world poses some new challenges.. 
6. You never "age out" of risk-taking.  In some ways, we become better risk-takers as we age, even if certain kinds of risk no longer make sense for us.
7. The world will never be entirely under your control, but do what you can to manage the risks you choose. We try to control or eliminate risk to our own detriment. Instead, diversify and then either hedge or insure, if possible. Insurance is underrated. 

“It’s the foundational principle in finance: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Every return requires risk. Eliminating the risk may eliminate the potential return—not just in markets, but, Allison Schrager argues, in life. Is playing it safe the riskiest thing we do? ”

—Ian Bremmer, author of Every Nation for Itself: What Happens When No One Leads the World

“Living means dealing with risk. Yet most of us don’t know how to think about the cosmic roulette that governs our choices, from the trifling to the existential. That includes policymakers, who must trade off risk and reward in their own decisions and in the incentives they provide to citizens. Allison Schrager explains the history, logic, politics, and psychology of risk in a book that is fascinating, timely, and practical.”

—Steven Pinker, Harvard University

“How should we think about risks in our lives? Although most of us think we are taking too much, are we actually taking much too little? Allison Schrager’s fascinating and deeply informed book will help you navigate a world in which you are probably not taking as many chances as you should.”

—Kenneth Rogoff, author of Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead