Are you afraid of all the things you never did?
Originally, I intended to keep shaking my fist at the wind and being paranoid about how the Universe is out to get me. Then I decided we’d spent enough time for one week fixated on all the things we simply can’t change. I mean, it’s fun and all, but not terribly productive if we want to be proactive instead of reactive.
So I thought we’d turn our attention back to the source of most our troubles, pay attention to the one person who so often controls whether our life goes according to plan simply by acting – or not acting – at the appointed hour.
Spoiler alert! I’m talking about us.
More specifically, I think it’s time we cast a critical eye onto why some of us – again, myself included – seem so determined to make sure we fail at [Insert Important Thing Here]. Are some of us simply hard-wired for failure while others are keyed into success?
Fearing failure or fearing fear?
Today, I ran across a quote that is sadly not attributed to anyone. So, let’s listen to what our good friend Anonymous has to say:
“Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have and should have.”
Although this directly confirms my feeling that we often stand in our own way, it indirectly affirms something else I’ve been thinking for quite some time. Well, wondering is more like it. I’ve been wondering if it’s failure we fear or if it’s really the fear of fear. (I planned to give the names of phobias for each, but tripped down the rabbit hole and forgot what I was searching for by the time I got back to writing this. Guess I failed…)
Anyway. Until next time, how about we ponder this quote, as well as what’s really to blame for our failures? Is it that we don’t take action when we mean to? Is it that we’re simply too afraid of failing?
Are we so incapacitated by the fear of being afraid that we let those golden opportunities slip through our trembling fingers?
Or am I the only one who sometimes wonders if I’m hard-wired to fail? You tell me.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
© 2011, Jen Whitten. All rights reserved. Using content from The Positive Piper without permission will cause the Negativity Beast to attack. BEWARE!
About Jen Whitten
Jen Whitten is a freelance writer, editor, consultant, blogger and ninja...yes, ninja. When not slaying the Negativity Beast, she enjoys writing fiction and baking delicious cookies. You can view her complete bio under the About menu.
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