Most of us were taught we should be concerned about what others think about us and should seek their approval for all that we do. We sometimes hear a little voice in our head that actually says, “What will they think?” or “If you fail, you’ll look like a fool.”
I bet you can look back at your life, and like me, remember times when you were afraid to try. We’ve all wondered about how our lives might be different now, if we had taken a few more chances…if we had risk more…instead of succumbing to that fear of looking foolish.
Who are these people that we are so concerned with what they think? Why do we let what they think stop us from doing, achieving, and having what we want? What’s wrong with failure anyway? Failure just means that you’ve discovered a way that it doesn’t work. We’ve all heard about how Thomas Edison worked for more than a year and a half to create a better, long-lasting light bulb that could be used in a mainstream application. During that time, he found 9,999 ways that didn’t work. If he hadn’t persisted, you probably wouldn’t even be reading this blog right now.
If you try something and don’t get the result you want, it simply means you were willing to risk, it might take longer than you expected, your goal might have been unreasonable, you have to do something differently next time, or you have an opportunity to start something new which is more suited to you.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could just overcome any fears you have? We know there’s always a chance we will fail, so why worry about it. Everyone else has the same chance of failure as we do. We are not the exception to the rule, but we will never succeed unless we try.
So, what will they think if you don’t try? “They” are going to think one way or the other. But you will only succeed if you put forth the effort and be concerned only with what you think.
