Fear Fizzle More Than Failure

Most people don’t fail that much. They may not always succeed, but genuine, fall-flat-on-your-face failure is quite rare.

Instead, most efforts fizzle long before someone could call it failure.

Our plans don’t explode, but fizzle out and are forgotten. Instead of detonating and needing to pick up the pieces, they get pushed to the back of the closet. We expect to take them back out another day, but instead they collect cobwebs.

You Should Try to Fail More

Aim for success, obviously. But aim in such a way that it’s still possible to miss. Because when failure isn’t possible at all, the outcome is usually to fizzle out instead.

Try projects that might not work. Ask people out who might reject you. Learn something you might be bad at. Start a business that might not make any money.

Again, the goal isn’t failure itself, but to live in a way where failing is a possibility. Only that way will your successes mean anything at all.