“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Confucius
If there’s something each of us fears the most, it’s failure. It can make the stomach of even a brave heart churn.
Even the best, most successful achievers live under its shadow.
The gripping terror of failure is what becomes the biggest obstacle in your mind, instigating it to produce excuses faster than a storm brews waves in the ocean.
This fear holds you back from exploring new opportunities, getting adventurous. It stifles your growth, halting progress in its tracks.
Like the dementor from Harry Potter, it sucks out the courage to move ahead.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
One failure does not mean the final defeat.
But that one failure is what decides (most of the time) what you want to do next.
History proves that failure isn’t the end; it’s a stepping stone. At that moment, it may feel like the final chapter. But it’s up to you to decide how to move forward.
Many would reconsider giving up as that looks like the most sensible thing to do. Lesser stress. No longer open to ridicule. No need to waste time and effort.
But not all failures are equal. A failure without reflection is just a setback. When you examine it with the right questions it becomes a blueprint for success.
Imagine what would’ve happened if Michael Jordan had thought this way after getting cut from his high school basketball team?
Walt Disney got fired from the newspaper job for “lacking imagination”. Unthinkable! He who gave millions childhood memories with his adorable characters went broke setting up his first animation studio.
Steven Spielberg was rejected multiple times by the University of Southern California’s film school. Can’t think of movies without Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park or Schindler’s List.
OK, they’re all celebrities. But that’s now. They weren’t always legends. If they had accepted the rejections, then they would’ve been another face in the crowd.
In short, fear of failure limits your potential. It disguises itself as perfectionism, procrastination or even endless preparations.
Instead of letting you move forward, it sneakily delays the inevitable need to take action. Your dreams and goals get left unexpressed.
There’s a price to pay when playing it safe.
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
You can’t live your life in a zero-risk of failure bubble. That doesn’t mean you’ve to jump off the cliff without a parachute. What’s needed is to take calculated risks.
You want to try something or explore new possibility, go one step at a time.
- Identify what scares you
- Take one small action to begin
- Reflect, refine and repeat
Speak with those who understand your need to take that risk. Doesn’t have to be just friends or family. Talk to people in the know.
First thing to do is change your mindset. From fearing failure, use it as a leverage.
Don’t overthink. You’ll be trapped in an endless loop of doubt. Dare to take the first step.
Remember that failure is not the opposite of success; it’s its foundation. What if failure wasn’t the enemy but a hidden guide to success?
Each of your failures shows you what you’ve done wrong and what you need to work on. Don’t look at it as failure but the feedback of what doesn’t work for you.
Failure is not always a lesson. Sometimes it’s a test. A test of whether you’re willing to pivot, persist or walk away.
To make your dreams a reality, you’ve to take the risk.
And when you take a risk, your success will depend on your preparation, your ability to adapt, and your openness to learning.
Fear fosters failure far more than mistakes do.
I know it from experience. I could’ve merrily continued as an educator, enjoying the teaching but feeling stifled in the bondage of structured servitude.
I had no clue about the parallel universe that existed online until the pandemic upset the world order.
I went all out to learn as much as possible. Learning, unlearning, experimenting, missteps, embarrassing mistakes. The journey was a total uphill climb. The learning curve was actually brutal. There were days I doubted myself.
But I persevered, was resilient. Each small step gave me a little more confidence to face the next challenge.
End result? I’ve built my own website and an online store, and now write regularly on various platforms. Unthinkable for the earlier me.
Conclusion
Don’t let your fears shackle your progress. You don’t even know if those fears are real unless you face them.
Unless you don’t try, there’s no way of knowing what comes next.
Begin charting your course to success. Take that risk and watch yourself transform into a more willing and daring version of yourself.
Be bold. If not now, then when? If you never take that first step, you’ll never know what you’re truly capable of.
That one day starts today. Your future self will thank you.
