subject: The One Thought You Must Fight [print this page] Is it a world plot ? Is it a simple question of luck ? Is it something physical ? No. The one thing that keeps you away from becoming rich is something you have deep inside you. The one thing that keeps you away from becoming rich is a thought. A powerful, socially-established thought that keeps you away from taking risks.
It keeps you from beginning. It keeps you from trying new things. It keeps you from truly innovating. And it keeps you from being rich.
Some - especially in international finance - call it risk aversion. Most prefer a clearer expression for that thought : Fear of Failure . Right. The awful paralyzing feeling that you have deep inside you when you try something new that you are not totally sure to succeed. Whenever it is taking a decision that implies human lives, deciding on an important investment, or actually moving and going talking to that cute girl youve been looking, staring at for days.
Fear of failure is not based on a logical mental process. I won't go too much into the details - scholars have proved that human beings will rather take a decision when they are absolutely sure about its outcome than a decision that would potentially be more efficient (saving more lives, earning more money) but which is a little bit riskier.
And were not even talking about the fear of loss here - which is completely related to the fear of failure. Most of the times, one will not try out a new idea or actually get started in opening a new business or realizing one of his goals - even if trying won't cost him a penny. Just because he fears failure - and thus, one thinks, criticism and rejection.
He wont try - because he is one hundred percent sure that if he doesn't try, he doesn't fail. but will he succeed ?
The truth is - you shouldnt fear failure. You should go for it. When comes the time when you have to actually take a decision, try something. Something that can either succeed or fail ; try to think about it in a logical way.
* Try and succeed. Win ! * Try and fail. You will have learned a lesson and gained experience. It's already better than your initial situation. Win ! * Dont try. You wont succeed. You wont learn any lesson. You wont gain experience. Loose.
Try ; you are absolutely sure to get a benefit from it. Thats simply how it works.
If you want to succeed in business and in life, seek to overcome this fear of failure. Thats the way youll begin trying - and youll see. When youll begin trying, youll begin succeeding.
