In talking with someone about their new idea, they hesitated and then shared that they were not sure they wanted to try. If they try, what if they failed? I shared this quote with them, which reminds us that failing by doing is vastly different than failing because you didn’t even try. Sure both of those are classified as a failure, HUGELY different in the overall impact and result.
When we dare to work hard, give it our all, try new things or change the old things to make them better, there is a good chance we will fail. Some portion will go bad and we will have to pick ourselves up and keep going. Yes indeed. Anything worth venturing, ANYTHING we have today is only possible because someone dared to try and fail, then try again and again until they got it right. The wisdom, character, self confidence and self worth that are byproducts of this try and fail process is incredible! Once you have tried and failed and kept going, NO ONE can ever take that away from you. Your life and attitude are changed forever. You have grown beyond the person who first had that crazy idea and dared to try.
The alternative is quite different. When we do not dare to work hard because we know we might fail, we drowned in the wrong things. Self pity, fear, agonizing and what if this what if that, wondering what might have happened or wishing things were different. None of that adds much positivity to anyone or anything it encounters. We end up wallowing in self doubt or want-to-be situations, and the pattern repeats itself because it becomes our habit of thinking. Don’t try, don’t get hurt, don’t risk, don’t even think about new ideas because eventually they all fail. How depressing! It is a license to feel bad about ourselves via fear, avoidance and just plain ignorance.
Of course you will fail! Are you kidding me? Anyone who has done anything of value fails. It isn’t the failure that is the problem, it is the fear of failure that prevents us from doing better, smarter, more daring and inventive things. Remember the acronym for FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real. Do not listen to the lie that says you can’t do it. Dare to believe that you will fail, watch it happen, learn, and do it again until it works. Fear is false, it is a lie and failure will hurt and you will learn and be better for it. Don’t let the lie that not trying is easier condemn you to a life of what ifs. Get up, give it a go and get learning.
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