I used to be afraid of failure.
In fact, I used to be so afraid of failure that I wouldn't try to do anything that I wasn't sure I would succeed in doing. To me, failure was an end in itself, and it was one to be avoided at all costs. Failure wastes time. Failure lowers self-esteem. Failure opens you up for ridicule. Failure is the opposite of success.
Success, getting what you set out to get - accomplishing what you set out to accomplish.
Right?
A few years ago I realized that the fear of failure had dictated the majority of the decisions I had made...in my entire life. For 20 years I had tried to avoid this phantom called Failure. Since then I've seen countless ways that fear of Failure has drastically limited the opportunities I pursue. But after 20 years of blind fear, and 3 years of working up the courage to fight it, in the last few months I've watched my fear of Failure melt and then evaporate.
With this fear gone I realize that the entire world is open to me. Everyone, everywhere, everything. There are plenty of things that I can't do - YET - but there is nothing I can't try.
Because Failure is not a end in itself.
Failure is the phantom that haunted me until I realize that each step - "failed" or not - is just another step in the road of life. So-called failures tell me, not what I can't do, but what I need to focus on. If I try something and fail, I have two options: try again, if it is something important to me, or try something else. Either option is good. The only bad option is giving up on trying because the things I happened to try dont go the way I wanted at first. I still feel a twinge of fear every time I walk into my martial arts classes or my language classes. Fear of making mistakes. Fear that I will fail in my objective.
And to be honest, I do! All the time! The amount of mistakes I make when attempting to communicate in another language are probably as numerous as the words in this entry. And the bruises on my arms and ribs are a sure sign that I regularly fail to block elbow strikes correctly.
Fine!
So what!?
What have I lost?
More importantly, what have I gained?
Failure is only failure if I leave it there. Instead of stopping with a "failure", I've realized that it will only haunt me until I take the lesson it's offering and then take my next step.
New level of life unlocked: Fear of Failure defeated. The possibilities are now limitless.
In fact, I used to be so afraid of failure that I wouldn't try to do anything that I wasn't sure I would succeed in doing. To me, failure was an end in itself, and it was one to be avoided at all costs. Failure wastes time. Failure lowers self-esteem. Failure opens you up for ridicule. Failure is the opposite of success.
Success, getting what you set out to get - accomplishing what you set out to accomplish.
Right?
A few years ago I realized that the fear of failure had dictated the majority of the decisions I had made...in my entire life. For 20 years I had tried to avoid this phantom called Failure. Since then I've seen countless ways that fear of Failure has drastically limited the opportunities I pursue. But after 20 years of blind fear, and 3 years of working up the courage to fight it, in the last few months I've watched my fear of Failure melt and then evaporate.
With this fear gone I realize that the entire world is open to me. Everyone, everywhere, everything. There are plenty of things that I can't do - YET - but there is nothing I can't try.
Because Failure is not a end in itself.
Failure is the phantom that haunted me until I realize that each step - "failed" or not - is just another step in the road of life. So-called failures tell me, not what I can't do, but what I need to focus on. If I try something and fail, I have two options: try again, if it is something important to me, or try something else. Either option is good. The only bad option is giving up on trying because the things I happened to try dont go the way I wanted at first. I still feel a twinge of fear every time I walk into my martial arts classes or my language classes. Fear of making mistakes. Fear that I will fail in my objective.
And to be honest, I do! All the time! The amount of mistakes I make when attempting to communicate in another language are probably as numerous as the words in this entry. And the bruises on my arms and ribs are a sure sign that I regularly fail to block elbow strikes correctly.
Fine!
So what!?
What have I lost?
More importantly, what have I gained?
Failure is only failure if I leave it there. Instead of stopping with a "failure", I've realized that it will only haunt me until I take the lesson it's offering and then take my next step.
New level of life unlocked: Fear of Failure defeated. The possibilities are now limitless.
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