Get comfortable with fear & failure

There are two f-words that most of us do not like at all. Fear. And failure. Right? Typically, we aren't comfortable with them.

We probably think that if we acknowledge or think about our fears, they'll grow larger. The fact is that we need to actually be aware of the individual fears that most rule our lives so that they don't rule. We need to say "Hello" to them, as it were—actually acknowledge that we are afraid of whatever it is, whether that be public speaking, broken relationships, job loss or debilitating illness. And we need to examine what the fear is all about. What's really going on? How realistic is it that we let that fear loom so large for us? Can we either let that fear go or at least shrink it down to manageable size? Then we can take incremental steps to deal with that specific fear.

And failure. It might be well to think long and hard about what constitutes failure anyway. If we learn from things that haven't worked in our lives, is that really failure? If a project experienced a few glitches but came out right in the end, is that failure? Often, it's really a matter of unrealistically high expectations.

And, honestly, it's good for us to get comfortable with both fears and failure. We can learn so much from them both. I would say I've learned far more from what I saw as failures than ever I've learned from what I consider my successes. You, too?