You should not do things to put yourself in danger.
Ian, who lives in a big and fairly dangerous city, just finished up with work and is leaving his office.
Ian wants to get to his house.
Ian takes the long way home through a pretty safe neighborhood that he's very familiar with.
Ian decides to take a shortcut home through a dangerous neighborhood with a very high crime rate.
It takes Ian a while to arrive home, but he enjoys a pleasant evening walk in the process.
Ian gets held up at knifepoint and has his cell phone stolen from him, but he manages to get home in one piece.