"What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?"

There are not many instances that I tend to live by quotes, but the one I find myself continuously reciting is one that I saw on the inside of the Palace of the Fine Arts in San Francisco. Written on these big, note-like sculptures are inspirational quotes for visitors of the Bay Area attraction. However, the first time I visited the place there was only one that really jarred my thought process and had me staring at it for a good amount of time.

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

Imagine that. Imagine if you lived in a world where you could live without regrets. Where you could live without fear of reaching for your dreams. And it came to my realization that you can live like that. I started opening myself up more to opportunities and experiences that scared me because I thought I wouldn’t be able to succeed. I reflected on the things I was doing in life and pondered whether I was truly doing it because it was something that gave me genuine happiness or if it was because I knew it was the safe option. The quote made me realize that if I was not doing things for myself, then what was I doing? Living a life that would satisfy the expectations of others? I hadn’t realized just how much I had let myself become the person I never wanted to be; a person that would live in regret for only living the life of what others deemed “acceptable.”

I’m not a completely unrealistic person, though. I know that there are things we have to do in life that will be difficult and we have to go through obstacles that we’re not going to like in order to reach our goals. But I use this quote in my life to reevaluate the decisions I make and to take chances I wouldn’t have ever thought of taking before. Because we only have one life to live and what good is it if you’re living it without ever doing things for yourself. So I leave you with this question:

“ What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”