On Fearing Failure

Overcoming the Fear of Failure

Football Sunday, the best day of the week. Every Sunday I look forward to watching my Seattle Seahawks partake in competition against their opponent. The sport impresses me because of the athleticism it takes to play. In my opinion, these players are at the top of the totem pole in athletic performance. Moreover, the discipline and dedication to be successful is inspiring. Alright, enough with my love for football. Well, one more, it’s very strategic. You have to be 5 moves ahead to secure the victory. Ok, done.

Today was a tough one. The Seahawks were involved in a close game. Each team was equally worthy of winning, but of course only one could be victorious. As the game progressed, I found myself becoming emotionally involved.

My mood was being altered by events taking place thousands of miles away. My heart started pounding, my body temperature rose, anxiety was coursing through my veins. The fear of failure had taken over. The failure was my team losing the game. Instead of appreciating the process, I had become infatuated with the results.

Human beings want to feel safe and secure. We want to know that everything is going to be ok. Our minds have evolved to correlate comfort with survival. When the possibility of success or failure is unclear, we become anxious, fearful, nervous.

It is this infatuation with results that cripples so many of us. The possibility of losing is too much to handle. Rather than taking risks, we settle for comfort. We settle for the known results. Complacency sets in and before you know we’re on our deathbed thinking “fuck, I wish I would have done this or that when I had the chance”. Albert Einstein said, “A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it is built for.”

At the end of the day, who gives a fuck if you fail. Face the fear of failure head on. Go at it full force like a Roman Legionnaire screaming into battle. Yielding a sword of passion. A passion for life, purpose, and fulfillment. I don’t care what it is. It could be basking weaving or being a pro athlete. All that matters is you follow it. Embrace the process and keep pushing, no matter what.

Failure is futile. It doesn’t exist. The act of not accomplishing the objective is real, but the feeling after is completely up to you. You either view it as a failure or as a learning experience. What went wrong and how could I do it better? After you do some self-reflection and fix the deficiencies, go at it again, and again, and again until you get what you want. I promise you, on the other side of this fear you’ll find your greatness. You’ll find the dream of living a life you never imagined.

Inevitably, the Seahawks did lose. They were inches away from victory. Guess what, though, I’m fine. The birds are still chirping and the Sun is Still out, until tonight at least. The same can be applied to losing a game in the season of life. Learn from it and come out next time better than you were before.

Alright, that does it, I managed to correlate my football team losing to fearing failure in life. Some of you may think this post sucked, but I don’t care. My passion outweighs my fear of failure.