“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”
-Sven Goran Eriksson
I
have heard many people say that the only person keeping us from achieving what
we want is ourselves. This idea is accurate, to say the very least, for
everyone is their own harshest critic. We’re all hard on ourselves, we’re always
judging whatever we accomplish, thinking about what we could’ve done
differently, second- guessing our decisions, and never really being completely
satisfied with our outcome. Everyone fears or has feared the possibility of failure
in their life, because it’s only natural for us to doubt ourselves.
The fear of making a mistake can essentially hinder
our pursuit of success. It’s something that keeps us from taking risks and putting
ourselves out there, something that places a padlock on even the brightest of
ideas; those who think that the possibility of failure outweighs the likelihood
for triumph prevents them from riding on the chance of a positive outcome.
Some, more than others, can be exceptionally harsh
on themselves. With whatever work I complete or goal I achieve, I can’t help
but feel like I didn’t do my best, or that I could’ve done better. I always
find myself doubting and heavily condemning my abilities, whether it is in
school, art, or even the most minor tasks. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever
been entirely content with anything I’ve done. I suppose this type of uncertainty
derives from my desire to make everything that I craft nearly perfect and with
as little of errors as possible. Minor OCD? Perhaps. It’s sometimes difficult
to be completely pleased with our creations; with things that we generate
purely from our own imaginations and ideas can form a sense of vulnerability
that we don’t always have the courage to reveal. All of us encompass the fear
of being rejected or not being good enough, which are predominant sentiments
that tamper with the level of self-confidence we have in ourselves.
But
how can we know success without knowing the true definition of failure? Failure
is a necessity in the process of attaining any victory. We must face failure at
some point, in order to know what it is we must do to achieve all that we can. How
else would we develop the knowledge in overcoming failure, without actually
failing? Sometimes, we have to be pushed beyond our projected limits, so that
when we pick ourselves back up, we can rise to our utmost stature.
Jeyme I love your quote so much because it is very true. Sometimes we do not achieve what we want or plan to because we see failure in our path. I would be lying if I said I didnt turn down opportunities in life because of the fear of failure. I believe that we must all fail at some point in our lives in order to continue to achieve success. Your writing is beautiful and inspirational. Reading your blog put a smile on my face because it is so honest.
ReplyDeleteJeyme I love this quote, and your response to the quote was great. I completely agree with the quote because it's so very true. I'm so scared of failure in life that sometimes I don't go for things I really want. The conclusion of your post left me with satisfaction because you explain how in order to achieve something we must face some kind of failure and your exactly right!! Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteI love how you compared failure and success. I think some people judge success by looking at there neighbors and seeing who has it better instead of just being happy with what they have and trying to do better next time. When a students gets all A’s and one B they seem to obsess over that B instead of marveling over the fact that they got more A’s. People need to learn how to not stress over the little stuff.
ReplyDeletei love how your post flows so smoothly and i love how the truth seemed to resonate with every word you said. no one ever feels completely satisfied, there will always be that little bit of doubt that threatens to overcome us and prevent us from taking the next step in the direction we need to be heading, but we all just need to strive more to reach our full potential and be successful, which can only happen by failing once or twice. a person does not know what heat is if they have never experienced cold. and it's the same with success and failure, people need to have experienced failure to fully comprehend the level of their success. and, just so you know, if you've really never felt truly successful about anything you've done, just take a look at this essay, it's a success in my eyes. (:
ReplyDeleteThis is deep.. haha. There is no need to fear failure, because failure is what make us human. We must learn from mistakes and use that knowledge in future situations. I like the part when you ask 'how can you we know success without knowing the true definition failure?' I like that alot because its true, and when you experience filure before you experience great victory you appreciate it way more.
ReplyDelete-Carlos Cruz
I love everything you compose because it is always so beautifully and elegantly written. The diction has a perfect flow that it is like a river. I love this masterpiece because it is 100% true. Everyone has the fear of failure, and if you don't then you are an alien. I love this mini essay jeymeeee as much as I love thai tea...and I LOVE thai tea(:
ReplyDeletelol UGH YOUR TALKING ME :(
ReplyDeleteI'm my harshest CRITIC! it is so tough to deal with the burden i carry out to myself its a serious of insults and bombings so that i fight harder so that i dont feel failure . But it is bound to happen failures occur all the time and it will happen to me one day . And your blog made me feel much better about its hard to to tell myself sometimes its okay to fail your not perfect your where made with imperfections genetically already and our imperfections make us who we are thank you so much this blog helped alot
Well written and solid logic Jeyme, I like how you think girl. They say that persistance is omnipotent, I totally agree with that concept. Antone who has stared at a blank page or screen or written more than a paragraph can tell you that nothing is more damning than over analyzing yourself and your work. You're right about us all being human and by nature of that fact, flawed. We are usually our worst critics. I start out that way when I edit a piece but have learned over the years to be open to success as well as prepared for failure. Failure is good. In fact EVERY great discovery stemmed from one failure or another. I agree with your comment about a natural "fear of rejection" as a writer I have dealt with that often! At the end of the day though, I have learned to be pleased with my work and myself, it inspires me to keep on keeping on...;)
ReplyDelete