The Risk Superpower

TL;DR

Risk isn’t recklessness — it’s agency. The ability to stay calm while others flinch is one of the few real edges left. Risk tolerance isn’t fixed; it’s trained. Like muscle, it grows through discomfort — running when you don’t want to, lifting when it burns, pressing forward when fear whispers “wait.” The next five years will test that muscle. Playing it safe may be the riskiest move of all.

I. Everyone Wants the Upside, No One Wants the Risk

People have called me a risk taker my whole life. I never really felt that label fit.

To me, what looked like “risk” from the outside usually felt like the natural move once I understood the opportunity.

What I’ve realized is that risk often just feels uncomfortable — not irrational.

And most people will do almost anything to avoid discomfort, even when it’s the toll for real progress.

II. Risk Is Emotional, Not Mathematical

I’ve met plenty of brilliant, capable people who stay stuck in patterns that feel safe but slowly suffocating.

It’s not that they lack intelligence — they just never built tolerance for uncertainty.

Risk is mostly emotional. It’s the ability to feel volatility and not mistake it for danger.

It’s not about gambling — it’s about staying composed long enough for asymmetry to work in your favor.

(This post nails it from Katherine @ a16z: risk as emotional resilience — learning to stay present through uncertainty.)

III. Discomfort Is a Muscle

Being “comfortable being uncomfortable” is a skill that can be trained like anything else.

Every time you do something hard — a long run, a heavy lift, a tough conversation — you’re building your capacity to face uncertainty in other areas of life.

I’ve learned that physical discomfort translates directly into emotional tolerance.

When your brain says stop and you keep going, you’re teaching yourself that fear doesn’t always signal danger — sometimes it just signals growth.

IV. Updating the Model

@The_Prophet_ recently wrote about how people repeat the same failures because they never update their internal model of reality.

Pain shows up, but they ignore what it’s trying to teach.

Each uncomfortable experience is feedback — an opportunity to recalibrate your risk muscle instead of retreating.

The more you practice, the faster you recover from volatility, both emotional and financial.

V. Why Now Is the Time

Raoul Pal calls this the Economic Singularity — a period where AI, cheap energy, and monetary debasement collide to reshape the global system.

Standing still now means losing 11% of your purchasing power each year .

The only way through is forward.

AI and zero-cost energy are creating a new kind of leverage — one that rewards those willing to adapt, experiment, and yes, take risk.

Comfort has no yield.

VI. The Risk Superpower

Risk tolerance isn’t a personality trait. It’s a trained capacity to hold discomfort while staying clear-headed.

The people who thrive in the next cycle won’t be the smartest — they’ll be the ones who practiced being uncomfortable until it felt normal.

That’s the superpower: conviction under stress.

VII. Skin in the Game

At First Turn Capital, we try to live this philosophy — allocating toward asymmetry in crypto, AI, space, and energy.

Every position we hold once looked uncomfortable to take.

That’s usually a good sign.

VIII. Closing Thought

The real risk isn’t in taking big bets.

It’s in building a life so padded you never test your strength.

The next five years will belong to those who keep stepping into the unknown — and train that muscle until it feels like home.