Don’t Let Your Fear Of Failure Stop You From Starting

We all have that one thing we want to do but don’t. Or we have this image of the life we want, but don’t go after it. We have this idea of the person we want to love but don’t go searching for them. We desire to look a certain way but don’t put ourselves first. We all have that one thing.

Maybe you’re like me, and it is more than just one thing. You can begin to write a laundry list of all the things you should be doing instead of laying on the couch. And I’m sure you can make an even longer list of all the things you wished you were doing instead. I recall years ago hearing from a friend, “Your energy flows where your interest goes.” That stuck with me for so long, and it would often pop up in my head when I was doing something I didn’t want to be doing, like laundry or paying a bill or attending something I wish I could have bailed on. I would often think to myself, “If only I was interested in this, I would have the energy and excitement to finish the task.”

But the truth is, no matter how wealthy, how successful, how happy, how thin, how productive, or how healthy you may be, we will always have things we don’t necessarily want to do. For me, it’s folding laundry. If I could hire someone to do that for me for the rest of my life, I’d be utterly content. But that made me think even further. It makes sense to feel this way about things that feel like a chore, but why do I also get this feeling when I am going after a passion? Why do I feel this way when I am going after something that I do truly want? Why do I feel this way when I set the goal myself?

At first, it was hard for me to answer. A great example was that I had all these extra bags I no longer used and knew I could resell them online for a profit. But the idea of taking the photos, posting it, then packaging and shipping to the buyer felt like an annoyance, though the idea of extra money in my pocket had me smiling from ear to ear. Yet I was unmotivated. I would push it aside or leave it on my to-do list for quite a while.

And then you do the task, and the reward is just as sweet as you had imagined, only leaving you to think, Why did it take me so long to do something that is only benefiting me? This is something that is helping my higher self. And I have plenty of other examples with work, with my health and wellness, with my relationships. All of these examples and such little explanation until I picked up a book that made it all make sense.

The best part was after I picked up the first book, I didn’t stop finding ones similar. I had thrown myself into this abundance of learning about who I was and why I did or didn’t do things certain ways. What I found for me, and for so many others, is that it is not motivation we lack. It is not discipline either. Most of the time it is our fear of the unknown. Even if it is something exciting, life-changing, or improving your entire world, fear has a sneaky way of creeping in. It slips through the backdoor and drops little thoughts that keep you in your safe space.

And I love my safe space. It has kept me safe when I needed it most. But that is not a space I wish to reside in, for the rest of my life. No. That is my comfort zone on the days where the world feels a little too heavy. But not for the days when I am ready to take leaps and bounds forward.

Don’t let your fear of failing keep you from starting. We all have to start somewhere. Do it when you are scared. Do it when you hear the thoughts of “I can’t” and push through anyway. Do it even if you don’t feel ready. “Ready” will never show. The right time will never present itself. You must make that right time all on your own. And that is when it will all fall into place. That is when it will all work out. And that is when you will know it was all worth it.

Don’t wait to lose the weight, find the man, get the job, or find the apartment—do it now. Life is too short to wait for the right moment when you have the magic within you to create it all on your own.