Risk cannot be destroyed, only transformed or transferred.
That’s from a write-up by a finance pro about covered-call option strategy.
I suspect this rule can be extended to most of Life.
Including in my professional life where the things that I build for customers do not zero out a problem. The problem is transformed. It might be transformed into a time-bounded risk (the risk goes away at a specific date in the future but you’re exposed to the cruel wind in the meantime). It might be transformed from the risk you don’t want into a friction you will accept.
“I don’t want none of THAT” is a common position for my customers. Yeah but you will have to give something to get rid of some of “that” — and you might not be willing to pay the price needed to get rid of ALL of “that.”
So, too, in personal life. I want a happy family. Ok are you willing to pay whatever price is asked of you, with the possibility that you might not get what you want?
In short, “risk” (to use the financial jargon) is a mathematical constant. Like energy. You might transform electricity into light into heat but the energy is there.
No free lunch, if you look at it from a high-enough vantage point.