My last post was on courage. So it makes a lot of sense to me to follow that one with this post on fear. We all fear many things. But, I think the real fear, the mother of all fears, is our fear of failure. You can even say that it is a result of perfectionism. To me, they are two sides of the same coin.
When we expect perfect results, we fear mistakes. And so we make sure that we don't make mistakes by not taking any action. All we're left with, in the end, are regrets. How true are those words, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail"?-Robert Schuller.
For the longest time I believed, that, if there was even, a slight chance, of accomplishing anything less than complete success in a venture, then I'd certainly not attempt it at all. And is there anything in life, worth pursuing, that is 100% failure proof? No, definitely not!
This blog is my attempt to throw out my old way of thinking. My new philosophy is to try, strive, push the boundaries, tell myself it's okay to make mistakes, and it's okay to fail, because these will become my stepping stones for the next venture.
I remind my kids that perfection is overrated. As Salvador Dali said,"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never attain it". So go out there and do your thing and don't worry about falling flat on your face in your attempt. You know you did your best and tried very hard and, now, you can say, you have no regrets.
Have you overcome deep-rooted fears to reach your ideals? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
(Photo credit: Caroline )
When we expect perfect results, we fear mistakes. And so we make sure that we don't make mistakes by not taking any action. All we're left with, in the end, are regrets. How true are those words, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail"?-Robert Schuller.
For the longest time I believed, that, if there was even, a slight chance, of accomplishing anything less than complete success in a venture, then I'd certainly not attempt it at all. And is there anything in life, worth pursuing, that is 100% failure proof? No, definitely not!
This blog is my attempt to throw out my old way of thinking. My new philosophy is to try, strive, push the boundaries, tell myself it's okay to make mistakes, and it's okay to fail, because these will become my stepping stones for the next venture.
I remind my kids that perfection is overrated. As Salvador Dali said,"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never attain it". So go out there and do your thing and don't worry about falling flat on your face in your attempt. You know you did your best and tried very hard and, now, you can say, you have no regrets.
Have you overcome deep-rooted fears to reach your ideals? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
(Photo credit: Caroline )
So true! Blogging has been for good for me in that way. As a medium, it's not about writing a perfectly-crafted work, it's about honesty and being a work in progress. Sometimes I cringe when I read over a published post and see a typo, but I remind myself it's not about perfection. This has been a great exercise for the other areas in my life where I have the same struggle on a larger scale.
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. You're right, it's not about striving for perfection, its about learning and enjoying the journey and becoming better.