Others have to be coaxed out on the
limb because they don’t want to hurt themselves. The degree of coaxing varies
depending on the situation, the person, and the limb.
Some people never let go of the trunk
while others only need a nudge or two to move farther out. For those who let fear of failure
dominate your decisions, I have to ask: what is there to be afraid of?
I’ll
get hurt physically, emotionally or financially?
That doesn’t scare me much because I’ve
always thought, regardless of how successful I am just being alive brings the
same possibilities.
Others
will think I’m less than?
That doesn’t scare me much because I
know I’m not. If anything I’m average, and that’s fine with me.
Others
will laugh?
That doesn’t scare me much because I
know the sting eventually goes away, and afterwards I can always say that I
tried, which has been something I’ve valued since I was a kid.
Some people don’t try so that when
others laugh at them they can claim the result was from a lack of effort rather
than a character flaw. That “too cool for school” approach never made sense to
me. Trying is far better than not trying, in my opinion, even if the result is
unfavorable.
Others
will think I’m dumb?
That doesn’t scare me much because I
know I am, on a whole bunch of things, but someone smarter than me once wrote
that knowing what you don’t know is the key to a whole life, so that’s always a
pick-me-up. Plus, I feel pretty smart because I read that somewhere, once.
The
Answers Are In the Question
The potential answers to these
questions are what keep us from going out on a limb and giving life our best
shot, which often creates the outcomes we were afraid would happen in the first
place.
For those who want to conquer your
fears but have no idea how to start, know there are many lessons we can learn when we fail.
Failing Is An Effective Teacher
Failure is the middle school teacher
you hated but who also happened to be the one who taught you the most.
We need successes along the way to keep
us motivated, but failure from time to time can be an awesome motivator and an
enduring reminder of what not to do in the future.
If
You Fall Get Back Up
For those who understand there is much
to be learned from failing and are working every day to conquer your fears of
failing, I applaud you and encourage you to keep at it.
Falling is scary, and depending on how
high we are, the threat of falling can paralyze us or cause us to make poor decisions. Remember that sometimes the thought of
falling can be more terrifying than the fall itself. Don’t let fear steal your
courage.
If you’ve taken a big fall, try climbing
small trees to boost your confidence and help keep you going forward until you
can get back on the horse. With some practice and more confidence, you’ll soon
be tackling the Red Woods again.
The
Ground Level
For those who are so afraid of failure
that you don’t climb trees, you must come to terms with the fact that you will
never go higher than ground level.
To be clear, when it comes to
self-improvement whether you stay at ground level or climb a thousand trees makes
no difference to me. Just make sure that, if you do choose to stay at ground
level, don’t stand under my tree and cast stones at my efforts. If my limb does
break, it could very easily be you who cushions my fall.
