One of the biggest reasons people put things off until it’s too late is they’re afraid of failing. At least if they never tried, they wouldn’t have to admit that they weren’t good enough. They wouldn’t have to say they put their best foot forward, but they still failed. They can still cling to the what-if’s and believe that they could do it if they wanted to, they’re just choosing not to. Failing is never easy, but we all have to go through it. If you try to avoid failure so much that you avoid trying, you’re never going to succeed either.
- Failing keeps you humble. If you always get everything you want, you’re probably going to get cocky. If nothing is ever guaranteed, you’ll learn the importance of hard work and see the connection between how much effort you put in and what the outcome is.
- You’ll learn what to do differently. Sometimes you don’t realize you’re taking the wrong approach until it fails. Since hindsight is 20/20, you’ll be able to look back and figure out what you did wrong, so you can fix it for next time.
- You’ll be more determined next time. Failing every once in awhile has a way of making you want to work even harder to succeed. It’s even more satisfying to accomplish something that wasn’t easy and you really had to work at, and you’ll be willing to work hard for that feeling.
- What else would you be doing? Most of our time is spent trying things. We don’t know what the future will hold or what works and what doesn’t. Until we try. So, what do you think you’re going to do with your life if you’re too afraid to try anything new? Be content to work the first minimum wage job you got when you were 16? I don’t think so.
- It’s better to know for sure. So, you’re pretty sure you’re going to fail. But how can you possible know for sure if you don’t even try? Unless your goal is to fly a plane across the Atlantic and you’ve never even had a single lesson, I say go for it. Then at least you’ll know whether your instincts are good or not.
- Failing doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It takes quite a lot of be labeled a failure. You would have to spend your entire life doing nothing but failing to earn that title, and chances are you’ll probably figure out how to get a thing or two right along the way. So quit being so hard on yourself.
- The experience is just as important as the result. You know when people say it’s the journey, not the destination that matters? Well, same thing. You’ll learn a lot more from trying than you will from doing nothing, so what are you waiting for?
- You might end up going down a different path. So you’ve set off on the road of trying, but maybe along your journey you realize exactly what you’re doing wrong and decide to switch gears. You never would have had that epiphany if you didn’t embark on the journey in the first place, so it just goes to show you that you never know where inspiration will come from.
- Bragging rights. Sometimes failing results in a great story. But if you sit at home and do nothing, there won’t be a story to tell at all. Where’s the fun in that?
- People will respect your guts. Everyone has been paralyzed by the fear of failure at least once in their life, but not everyone finds the strength to push past it. Who knows, your ambition and optimism could inspire someone else to go after what they want too, even though failing is always a possibility.
