I've been mostly trading the last few days in EVE Online. My ISK balance has been steadily improving, so it's been good.
Risk and Reward in Eve
Two times I've been blow to pieces when hauling in low-sec, both times my industrial has been empty. The first time I got pod-killed as well, second time I managed to warp my pod to safety (after first undocking straight into the only other pilot in the system, who happened to be a pirate, duh).
Since then I've plugged myself with attribute enhancing implants to boost my skill training, and because of this I've been more and less travelled in high-sec only.
This morning I spotted lucrative trade route, but the buying end of the route was in low-sec, and then I realized that if I go for it, I can lose it all: If I make it to the station and make the purchase, most of my ISK will be tied to the goods in my cargo. If I get destroyed after that, it's all gone. If I get podded, I lose substantial investment I made in the implants. Even that I checked the system stats for recent activity, and it looked "safe", I didn't do it. I had too much to lose.
Then it hit me. This was fear. I was afraid to lose it all.
This is what makes Eve unique from anything I've experienced in massively multiplayer online games. I can actually lose something if things go bad. So it actually possible to risk it all (not recommended!). In other games I've played, like WoW, what you risk in the end? Not much. Your risking "to waste time" if you die, but that's pretty much it. In Eve, it's a whole new ball game.
Thus, I have to constantly evaluate the risk and reward of every action in Eve. And this is why I've enjoyed Eve so much. The rush after succesful "risk-run" is amazing!
All Things Eve (Further Reading)
Into Eve Online
Risk and Reward in Eve
Eve Kick-Start: Fitting Your Ship
Eve Kick-Start: Creating a New Eve Character
Eve Kick-Start: Skill Training for Newbies
Eve Kick-Start: Tutorials and Beyond
