Fear of Failure
Fear of failure. Ironically, it's a huge cause of failure in life -- careers, relationships, academics, all fail when no one wants to take responsibility, to take a chance.
I know all about this; I have a huge fear of failure myself. I have to push myself hard to submit a resume, because I just know it's going to be rejected. I hesitate before learning something new, because I hate not catching on quickly to anything. And, wow, was it ever difficult to commit to a relationship with Woof after the spectacular failure of the Toad Ex-Boyfriend.
But I do push myself, I do try. I laugh at danger as I send off yet another job application, ha ha! And, inside, I cringe a little.
Last week I read a pretty good short essay on the subject, The doormat, the jerk, and the lizard brain by Seth Godin.
Go ye and read it. It was written about business, but it really does apply to life in general. I've seen so many relationships that end because one or both people are afraid of being hurt -- or, worse, afraid of not being hurt, so they no longer have an excuse for not leaving their comfort zone:
"It's not my job" is a comforting refrain when you'd like to hide out. So is, "they all hate me and won't do what I say."
Fear is the driver here, it's fear that pushes people in either of these two directions. That's because in between the two extremes lies responsibility and opportunity and the requirement that you actually do work that matters.
This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/49879.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I know all about this; I have a huge fear of failure myself. I have to push myself hard to submit a resume, because I just know it's going to be rejected. I hesitate before learning something new, because I hate not catching on quickly to anything. And, wow, was it ever difficult to commit to a relationship with Woof after the spectacular failure of the Toad Ex-Boyfriend.
But I do push myself, I do try. I laugh at danger as I send off yet another job application, ha ha! And, inside, I cringe a little.
Last week I read a pretty good short essay on the subject, The doormat, the jerk, and the lizard brain by Seth Godin.
Go ye and read it. It was written about business, but it really does apply to life in general. I've seen so many relationships that end because one or both people are afraid of being hurt -- or, worse, afraid of not being hurt, so they no longer have an excuse for not leaving their comfort zone:
"It's not my job" is a comforting refrain when you'd like to hide out. So is, "they all hate me and won't do what I say."
Fear is the driver here, it's fear that pushes people in either of these two directions. That's because in between the two extremes lies responsibility and opportunity and the requirement that you actually do work that matters.
This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/49879.html. Please comment there using OpenID.