Do You Fear Failure or Do You Fear Success?

We often fear failure, however, what we overlook is our fear of success. We love to be comfortable. We love to be surrounded by things that are familiar to us, and when that becomes disrupted we become afraid. We fear being catapulted into something that we’re not ready for. This leads to self-sabotage in a desperate attempt to return back to our comfort zones. We look for ways to fail to avoid success because success means change.

When presented with an opportunity, how exactly do you know if you’re ready for a change and if you’re ready for success?

Ask yourself if you’re on cruise control.

Are you just following the “plan”? For most it’s to go to university or college, get a job, get married, buy a house, have kids, etc. There isn’t anything wrong with following the well-worn path. What’s wrong is following what is laid out in front of you, and still asking yourself “what if I pursued my passion?” or “Why am I not doing this?”. When these types of questions arise, ask yourself “Why can’t I be?”. You’ll find that your answer has to do with fear. Don’t be afraid of success. If you never put your thoughts into action, your nagging thoughts will always be present.

Stepping out of cruise control, and switching to manual has a learning curve, and requires a change in mindset. You can’t think of the times you didn’t achieve success as failures, you have to think of them as the time that you learned. A few years down the road will it be more worth it to ask yourself, “remember the time my startup didn’t work out?” or “what about that startup I never started?”.

“The pain of doing weighs ounces, and the pain of regret weighs tons.” – Jim Rohn

Own your own definition of success

Everyone’s definition of success is different, and we often find that this definition changes over time as we encounter new experiences, and learn new lessons. It’s important to figure out what success means to you personally, being able to define it provides a trajectory of what it is you want to achieve. If you take ownership of your personal definition, you’ll soon realize that it isn’t something to fear. Every individual is different, which makes your own success unique as well.

Dive In

“I will never have any more energy, and any less responsibility than I do now.”

There never is a perfect time to take the plunge into the unknown. It’s a leap of faith towards your own success. You know that you’re ready when your “Why can’t I?” becomes “Why not”.

Don’t fear failure, and don’t fear success. Fear the risk of regret.