This One Thing That Is Your Passport to Failure

I have come to realize - through experience and observation - that the biggest bar to human success is the fear factor.

As humans, we all want to perform to the best of our abilities every time. Excelling the first time is an incredibly great treat for our confidence. It inspires us to accept challenges more gracefully and with more exhilaration. It allows us to be more daring and adventurous, thus making our lives more abundant and fulfilling.

This kind of attitude is praiseworthy, and should be nurtured by all who seek success. Continuous improvement is vital to our success and happiness as human beings.

This very attitude that drives us towards excellence, however, can sometimes be detrimental to mere mortals like you and me. It is detrimental in the sense that we, as society, frown terribly on any result that is contrary to our expectations. Any outcome that falls outside the definition of a good performance is regarded as failure. I believe this kind of thinking is a terrible blunder that should not be encouraged.

We dislike gray areas. According to our mindset, we will either pass or fail, we will either be rewarded or punished, we are either good or evil.

Because of this attitude, people dread making even the slightest mistake. People act like it’s a sin to make a mistake. This mentality has destroyed people’s passion, creativity and sense of adventure. We follow the crowd and sway with the wind. We have become pushovers who bend over backwards to accommodate the needs of others, even though we know the damage that will likely result from such conduct.

Our inaction leads to a lot of demoralization and a weakened desire to pursue the goals we have set for ourselves. Our generation has become a generation of non-believers that is constantly in panic mode and always taking the safe, yet meaningless, approach to life.

All these improper conditions are brought upon us by one thing and one thing only...

We always fear that we will be punished if we make errors.

We fear that we might not succeed if we try.

We fear all potential consequences that may push us

out of our comfort zone. We fear… we fear… we fear…

There is great danger lurking on the horizon if we don’t do something to change this attitude. I am not suggesting that we go out and be reckless just to prove that we are fearless or, that we should refrain from excellence, and seek mediocrity. I am only reminding all of you that making mistakes is a crucial part of life. Mistakes are a necessity in our learning and development.

The power lies in recognizing where you went wrong and taking steps to fix the error. Here’s an idea. How about you realign your action steps to match your desired outcome, record your errors in a journal and write a book that inspires others by sharing the methods you used to overcome your greatest adversities? Wouldn’t that make all your adversities worthy of the outcome?

Keep taking those knocks, they make you stronger, and the victory becomes much sweeter. Remember that you don’t have to learn only from your own errors, learn also from those who have faced similar challenges before you.

Be familiar with your environment. Conduct research before you take the leap of faith. Planning your action steps towards success helps you prevent silly mistakes that will derail you from your tracks. Prevent unnecessary setbacks, but don’t be afraid to live your fullest life because you fear making mistakes.

FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. – Author Unknown

If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. – Dale Carnegie

You always miss 100% of the chances you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky

Fear is only as deep as the mind allows. – Japanese proverb

In order to succeed, your desire to succeed must be greater than your fear of failure. – Bill Cosby