This is part 3 in a 5 part series called “Conquering Inaction”.
Failure rarely ends in death or public disgrace. But that knowledge doesn’t make failure less frightening. “What if I follow my dreams and fail?” It’s a frightening question.
But you know what takes the fear out of that question? Answering it.
Seriously, what’s the worst that can happen if you fail?
Will you die? Probably not.
Will you become homeless? Probably not.
Will you lose your friends? Probably not.
As I’m working on my dream, Sunday| magazine, I’ve been very afraid of failure. I never thought I was going to die or become homeless. I can always get a job if this project doesn’t pan out. But I have been afraid that I’ll lose all credibility. What if no one wants to listen to me ever again?
That’s my own insecurity. I’m a people pleaser. I want people to like me.
But people won’t hate me because I fail. In fact, they’ll probably come beside me and sympathize. Failure is nothing to fear.
Every great individual has endured failure and kept going. Don’t let failure keep you from following your dream. Don’t fear failure.
Stay tuned for more parts of this series! If you’re not subscribed via email or RSS, now would be the perfect time to subscribe.
2 Comments
Great advice. I think the thing about actually answering the scary questions going on in your head works really well. It’s counterintuitive. Right now I’ve been putting off calling an important person that can help me with a difficult situation. I asked myself why I still haven’t called him and the answer was simple: I’m afraid he’s gonna tell me bad news tht will make this situation worse than it is instead of better. But answering that question helped me make everything clear in my head which will help me actually do it. I have to use the same technique when I’m gonna ask a girl out haha.
Exactly. The worst that can happen isn’t so bad. Then just realize there are options for dealing with that “potential failure”…no big deal. :)