Being Afraid of Your Best Self...

Do you ever catch yourself in a moment and think…”wow, I am really responsible for this,” or “seriously, this is great, something must be wrong…wait,” or “I am really happy and successful, surely there must be doom lurking somewhere, right?”  What is wrong with us?  Why is it that we seemed to be programmed to doubt ourselves when things are going in a positive and optimistic direction?  Why do we question our own success?

FEAR…we are scared to think about what might happen if we actually succeed.  If we reach our goals, what is next, how will we reach the next one and how much harder will we have to work?  What happens if we don’t reach the next goal?  Is it that we are setting ourselves up for failure?  Be honest, how many times do you bow out of a challenge because you are afraid that at some point you will not succeed?  Does it make you a little uncomfortable and uncertain when you can’t anticipate what will happen?

FAILURE…have you tried something new before and you feel that you failed or that it didn’t go exactly how you envisioned it?  What about the experience, wasn’t that worth something?  Didn’t you learn something?  When that path led you to a different one, were you able to see the potential in a new opportunity?  Sometimes what we consider failing or unsuccessful is actually exactly what needed to happen to bring new prospects to us.

So now the big question in this collection of “what ifs” – Think about a time in your life when you took a chance.  Did you win or lose; succeed or fail; What really determines the value of that experience for you?  Did that step outside of your typical zone of normalcy help build the person that you are today?  Did you build experience, did you gain knowledge, did you become more confident as a person and a decision maker?  How can you say yes to any of this and consider that attempt a failure?

You can’t.  You will always be ahead of the game when you take the chance that might allow you to become a better version of yourself.  If you don’t do this for yourself, what message does that send to others, especially those who look to you when they make choices and life-changing decisions? 

I always refer to that saying:  Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. I then follow it up with – because how cool was it to be in the game at all???  If you aren’t willing to put yourself in a position of possible success, you won’t grow, you won’t improve and you won’t be your best self…but if you take the chance, face the fear and step up to the line…you just might!