Failing — It’s not the end of the world

Are you afraid to fail? Do you count up and reminisce on your mistakes? It’s holding you back…

I suck at painting. I really suck at it.

I’ve dabbled in the past, done the odd painting here and there, but these instances were few and far between.

So why does my dining table now have plastic wrap taped over it and a wet canvas sitting on top of it almost every night?

What changed?

Ultimately, I stopped being afraid of making a mistake!

Previously, what should have been a fun activity for me, I had turned into a nightmare. I was terrified I would make a mistake and the piece would be ruined, and as a result I avoided painting almost completely. In addition, all of my paintings were monotone, quite basic, and entirely within the lines. Were these paintings what I wanted to be creating? Were they what was in my head? No, but I lacked the skill!

And that was when I realised that I always would… Unless I stepped out of my comfort zone, and tried to paint what I wanted. Would I make mistakes along the way? Absolutely, but I’d learn from them!

Foolish, to get so paralysed by fear around a hobby, right?

Perhaps, but I’d be lying if I said it stopped there; fear of making mistakes held me back across multiple areas of my life. Can you honestly say it hasn’t stopped you, in areas of yours?

I personally believe that fear of failure is the greatest threat to our success; in some instances, we even let fear of making a mistake stop us from trying in the first place!

It stops us from putting ourselves out there, in case we fail and open ourselves to ridicule.

It prevents us from asking out the girl/guy of our dreams, because they could say no.

It holds us back from pursuing our dreams, because of what we believe people will think if we don’t achieve them.

However, we can learn from our mistakes; they are vital for us to grow and succeed in the long term. Failing not only shows us what will not work, it can give us the motivation to try again, and can increase our subsequent chance of success!

Can you imagine a world in which we let fear of making mistakes stop us from making the attempt? We’d still be living in caves. This may sound extreme, but every scientific and cultural endeavour had the risk of failure.

Don’t let your fear of making a mistake hold you back in your life; come out of the cave.

What now?

This is all about your mindset; allowing yourself to try things that may not work, and importantly, not punishing yourself if that proves to be the case.

Don’t get hung up on your failures, and don’t criticise and berate yourself. Everything is a learning experience, especially your failures, and more knowledge is never a bad thing.

Don’t let fear of making a mistake stop you from even trying; you’ll miss out on so much.

And finally, support others who put themselves out there. If what they’re trying to achieve doesn’t work, let them know it’s not the end of the world. Help them come back stronger.

Is there something in your life which you’ve always wanted to try, but you’re afraid you would not succeed at? Or is there a lesson you wouldn’t have learned if you hadn’t made a mistake? I’d be keen to hear!

Originally published at wordsbydavid.com on November 1, 2015.

About the Author: David Whitaker is a freelance writer, who spent years in the corporate rat race before deciding that life is too short to not spend it doing what you love! He now spends his time writing about life and trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

If you like what he writes, please like, share, or comment!

David’s personal blog is at wordsbydavid.com and you can follow him on twitter at @wordsbydavid or at https://au.linkedin.com/in/whitakerd