Toffy’s Divide: Theme 5— Fear of Failure

Failing at business and other pursuits got me here.

Jack of all trades.
Master of none.
Fear of failure.
Comes in all.

When you’re interested in different fields and interests, it can keep life exciting and fresh. There’s always something new to learn. Something to explore. That’s me. I have multiple interests.

“That ‘L’ you’re so concerned about was not a ‘Loss’, it was a ‘Learning’”

I often hear “So Nifemi, when will you focus on one thing?” OR “So what’s your main thing?” from friends, colleagues and acquaintances that are usually surprised when they hear what I’m up to since the last time we met.

Having multiple interests can be exciting but it also has its down side. Fear.

Fear of failing at each thing you’re doing. And since there are multiple things the fear gets split into multitudes too, which can accumulate and block taking action.

Whenever, I start getting overwhelmed with all the things I’m doing. I start questioning.

Am I spreading my self too thin? Can I really run a business, make music, write books? Or am I going to fail at everything? Am I merely an incrementalist? Making tiny progress on everything that I’m working on but not able to bring it together to make a significant impact?

Venturing into my own business has been and continues to be the most scary thing I’ve done.

When I started right after my MBA, that fear of failure was crippling. I had the option to apply to high-paying jobs but decided to take a chance at building for myself.

You stand at the ledge and say “hmm, maybe it’s not time to jump. Let me wait till the abyss gets illuminated some more”.

By who? Who’s going to illuminate a path not traveled for you?

Fear is your friend?

Fear of failure is not all that bad. It’s a good thing actually, it’s what has helped us survive.

Our brains are wired to make sure we don’t take the wrong corner. It helps us be cautious so that we don’t get run over by a bus or walk into dangerous situations.

However, the same part of the mind that protects from danger also over-estimates the perceived fear of danger on a daily basis. So we tend to want to remain in our comfort zone. Where we don’t have to deal with the fear of failing at the unknown.

Unfortunately, that’s how we also get stuck. Trapped in mundane routine. Devoting all our time to one thing — the only thing that promises financial rewards — our jobs. Leaving no room for exploration of the other interests that bring a more balanced lifestyle.

No failure, no satisfaction

According to a recent Gallup report: State of the Global Workplace: 2022, “sixty percent of people reported being emotionally detached at work and 19% as being miserable. Only 33% reported feeling engaged ­­ — and that is even lower than 2020.”

The reports found that along with dissatisfaction, workers are also experiencing unhappiness at work. This is mainly attributed to “unfair treatment at work” from mistreatment by coworkers, inconsistent compensation, and corporate policies, to biases and favoritism.

Although the great resignation (or transition) has exposed the reality of job dissatisfaction, I still hear people talking about wanting to leave their jobs.

What’s stopping them? Is it the fear of failure? Fear of losing face? Fear of being kicked out of the group — losing status?

As someone that left a well-paying corporate job, I can tell you from my experience, that the fear of failure is real.

It’s realer than all the other elements such job satisfaction, pay, and location.

Forging my own path has been more of a mental and emotional challenge than anything else.

Over the years, I have adopted and strengthened a growth mindset that has helped me reframe.

Failure is inevitable.

Because failing is how you learn to succeed.

With some discernment, these learnings can compound into a new discovery, a new business line, a new way to apply your skills. It can lead to unearthing your unique gifts and skills.

It’s what has helped me grow my business. Allowed me to make and release amazing music. It allowed me to publish two books and numerous articles.

The exploration continues as I venture into new spaces. I’m exploring the NFT space and with every new thing, there’s still that fear of failing and wasting unnecessary time and resources.

But over years of practice, I know recognize the fear and find ways to push past it to take action.

If people keep doing things that they don’t really want to do because of fear of failure, we wouldn’t have many advancements.

People will continue to muffle their true self. Living a life not fully explored.

Fear of failure in Toffy’s Divide

Now Imagine a city or a place where no one wants to fail? Where your every failure is measured in tangible points that’s deducted for everyone to see.

Where you are graded on a social score and there’s no room to learn from your failure. You can only spiral down into a realm of uselessness, where you lose access to market opportunities, amenities, and even your friends.

That’s the picture painted in Toffy’s Divide in J City, where the entire space is run by one mega-corporation J Enterprise. The level of surveillance is ubiquitous, increasing the fear amongst the citizens of “standing out” or “exploring anything that is outside of their task at the corporation (that’s if they’re fortunate to have a job at the company).

Is this a possible future? Where there is more corporate consolidation and people have to work for fewer organizations, losing their ability to express any dissatisfaction.

If there are only a few organizations to work for — in this case, only one — will our fear of failure be amplified to the max?

So how does Toffy, the protagonist, deal with the urge to tell his own story? Will he overcome the fear of failure or will he get knocked back into his place with the system’s hammer?

Reframe: Switch that L around

We can be hopeful that people will reframe failure. We can channel our fears of failure into fuel that continues to ignite our curiosity. We can convert our losses from failing into learnings.

“That L you’re so concerned about was not a Loss, it was a Learning”

Curiosity and empathy is the most important attribute for innovating and doing purposeful work. As long as you develop a growth mindset and know that everything you do is to, you can start having a more healthy relationship with fear of failure.

These are the hopes we have for the Toffy’s Domes NFT Project

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