Mark Twain once said, “20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.” I couldn’t agree with him more.
When I was a child, I dreaded dinner time. I would pick at the vegetables on my plate, wrinkling up my nose in disgust. Sure enough, my mother would say, “You are not leaving this table until you try three pieces of asparagus.”
20 more meals passed and I was still convinced that vegetables were bad for me.
But, to my great surprise, asparagus is now one of my favorite foods.
Most of us have similar stories; we can all think of instances where we feel too afraid to try something new. We become content with the way things are, and we resist making any efforts to change them. And soon, we realize that it is so easy to get comfortable. In college, we may not try to join as many clubs as we would like to. With our relationships, we may be too scared to meet new people. In other words, we trap ourselves by avoiding the things that scare us. There are two main reasons for this: one is that we are afraid of failure, and the other is that we put limits on our dreams.
Many people have an unhealthy fear of making mistakes, and this fear can keep us from growing as individuals and improving the quality of our lives. I am reminded of a quote from Michael Jordan, when he famously said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan admits that, more often than not, we will fail; but, after falling down, we need to pull ourselves back up and try again. The journey is the way that we reach our goals.
There are several instances when we are afraid of failure and rejection. This fear really holds us back. You won’t apply for that job you have always wanted because you hold this deep-seated fear of being rejected. You won’t ask that cute guy sitting across from you out on a date because you’re so afraid that he won’t feel the same way. Why even apply for that special internship when you know they probably won’t pick you? These are thoughts that go through our minds and stop us from moving forward. And, often times, we ignore the fact that we really have nothing to lose.
Being afraid to mess up causes us to put limits on our potential. Imagine how different your life would be if you did gather enough courage to ask that certain somebody out on a date and they accepted. You might have gotten that amazing internship because you were willing to step out of your comfort zone. We have to see that possibilities don’t just land in our hands; almost every time, we have to fight for them.
But in the end, it’s worth it. You are missing out on so many opportunities by letting this fear overpower you. If you eliminate your fear of failure and take that extra risk, the rewards can be life-changing.
