Don’t Be Afraid to Fail!

One of the most paralyzing fears that I face often is the fear of failure. This is especially true when trying something new. Imagine all of the opportunities that people have missed out on simply because they were to afraid to try. I bet the numbers of missed opportunities is incalculable! I have struggled with a paralyzing social anxiety all my life. I know more than most what it is like to miss out on opportunities because I was too afraid that if I spoke up that others might dislike me…

Encouragement

This daily encouragement is as much for myself as it is for anyone else. What you really need to do when facing these uncertainties is ask yourself what is the actual risk? Think about it… what if you fail? Alternatively, what if you succeed! There are two sides to this coin and we often dwell on the negative side of things. What you need to ask yourself is what do I need to do to ensure my success?

“You are much more capable than you will ever give yourself credit for!”

Now let us consider the worst case scenario. What if you fail? Even if you fail at something you now have a great opportunity to learn from your mistake and apply that lesson to the next attempt! Also, consider what did you actually lose in your failed attempt? If all you lose is a little bit of time or a mild embarrassment (which is often a creation of our own mind) then you really aren’t out much!

Some of the skills I rely on every day were forged in the fires of failure. The very fact that I’m here writing this encouragement is a result of a failure that I chose to learn from instead of allow myself to keep me from moving forward. Don’t be afraid to fail! You are much more capable than you will ever give yourself credit for!