How many times have you made excuses for not trying
something new? At one point in my life, I had a treasure trove of some pretty
creative ones; always on hand in case I needed them to defend me from attempts
to leave my comfort zone. Mine were categorized; age (too young or too old),
time (not enough, too busy), stories (when my friend’s mother’s sister tried it
– WHOA – not good); you get the picture. Who was I kidding? The biggest reason
was fear of failure; plain and simple. Fear of being different; fear of looking
silly; fear of not being perfect, blah, blah, blah. Fear; that four letter word
that stops you in your tracks and makes you feel like your feet are rooted in
the ground; makes you sweat profusely and suddenly lose all grasp of the
English language; and stops you from experiencing, learning and enjoying something new. It can block your
way to achieving a goal.
At some time everyone experiences fear of failure, but when
it stops us from even trying something new, that’s another story altogether.
Think about it. How many times have you let that fear conquer you? Maybe it was
not joining a choir because you were afraid of the audition, or going for a
part in a play because you were afraid to put yourself out there. Maybe it was a missed career opportunity that
kept you from moving forward; maybe it was a fear of public speaking that
stopped you from giving that big presentation at the company meeting. Funny
thing is that not trying can make you feel as miserable as if you tried and
failed.
So how do you conquer that fear? Embrace it and learn from
it. Consider what’s more important – failing or the opportunity missed by not
even trying? What’s the worst that could happen if you fail? Can you handle
that? What happened last time you fell short of your goal? Most importantly, take action. It’s surprising
how much easier things get after that initial plunge. It’s like wearing a new
pair of jeans. At first, they’re tight, stiff and uncomfortable. The more times
you wear them, the more comfortable they get.
Besides, my grandpa always used to tell me that the only
people who never make mistakes are people who don’t do anything. He was a very
wise man.
Posted by MJ Thomas
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