The Fear of Failure is Bigger than the Reality

A great idea is often followed by thinking.  The more we think, the more that great idea isn’t so great anymore.  Is this original?  Is someone else doing it? Do I even have the qualifications? 

It’s very easy to find a reason not to pursue the vision and usually costs less.  Who wants to waste resources on something that likely won’t amount to anything anyway?  We’ve all seen it time and time again.  Someone puts time, money, and energy into a pursuit and not long after it was something they used to do.  It seems smarter just to not even try, most likely we’ll be in the same spot anyway.  I mean at least try to get everything as perfect as possible to limit the chance of failure. 

Refuse to fall for this trap. Don’t wait for perfection to get started.  Perfection is a constant pursuit that we’ll never finish chasing.   Every step taken is followed by more necessary steps to reach our goal.  Years can quickly pass without ever taking any real leap toward what you started out to do. 

Often one is not seeking perfection for self, it’s perfection for the external world.  We imagine the spectators will be so wrapped up in what we do and what we say. The reality is that others’ evaluations of you will be a fleeting thought.  If the worst happened, it would likely be a laughable experience moments later. 

We’re human and we want to be recognized and acknowledged.  Social media wouldn’t be the business that it is if we didn’t.  It’s quite the paradox that along with the desire to be recognized and acknowledged, it’s also one of our greatest fears.  The bigger the impact of your journey the more people will love and hate you.  The more familiar people come with you, the more time they have to form an opinion.  So if you consistently post content to promote a product or idea, there are people liking your photos that can’t stand you haha.  If you’re quiet, some will dislike you because you don’t speak enough; if speak up, some will dislike you because you should learn to listen more than you speak. 

So whatever venture you’re considering, if you haven’t started yet you’re probably not that great.  If you get started and you’re not that great people like me will talk about you.  Failure will bring growth and experience will be the ultimate teacher.  Years after we step away from a venture, we can often return to it and pick up from where we started (5 years later here’s a Simply Xav post!).   

With that being said…Hurry up and fail!