Human beings start out in life with absolutely no fear of failure. Take learning how to walk, for example. We repeatedly failed in our initial attempts, but we got back up and tried again with smiles on our faces. The same thing happened when we were learning how to ride a bike. Growing up, it was through our failures that we learned how to master many of life’s challenges. Unfortunately, a lot of people forget this important lesson as they mature into adulthood and they begin to fear failure. As a result, they lose their zest for taking risks and trying new things which means they stop learning and growing. When this happens, their effectiveness as a person levels off as does their enthusiasm for life. What this means is that a life free of risks and failure really isn’t much of a life at all. So, if you want to increase your chances for success and experience life more fully, take those steps, risk the falls and see where life takes you. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did.
Hey Cuz: I love this and the blip: “Have a zest for taking risks…” I think, even at my age,{ soon 78 } there are some of us who have that built into our DNA. I took on the hobby last year of pursuing Ancestry and a bit about my heritage. AND, finding strong and hearty ancestors, 9+ generations back, It brought out another venue to take up way too much of my “re-time-ament” From that came a genealogy club, brand new friends at that monthly gatherings…and taking risks of putting myself out to strangers there….where?…there are no strangers around a new corner! RISKY as it seemed a year ago, summer’s over, and I am excited to RE-WIRE, not retire! And see a whole new covey of friends. Thanks for summarizing what’s out there for us goldy folks.
Ross, much truth. I have witnessed this fear of failure increase significantly over the past 13 years. Most of the younger generation do not want to take on risk and if they do they expect a parachute to come with it. This not only applies to the younger generation but to their parents as well. These parents are much the same. So, we actually have 2 generations who choose to live without taking risk. We need to get rid of our socialistic approach to competition and life in general. This means to get rid of participation trophies in sports and recognize achievers in all endeavors. Children will aspire to expectations of adults whether it be from home, the classroom, or on the practice field. We need to reward achievers for their making the effort to stand out while taking the risks of falling short. To those who only participate or choose to sit out the game of life on the sidelines, we need to speak words of encouragement coupled with stair-stepped incremental goals of achievement. For those who choose not to respond to encouragement and stair-stepped goals, allow them to suffer the full consequences of their decision without hand outs. Thinking about it, much of our welfare system is but issuing participation trophies for having done nothing.