Pathways: Is it *really* fear of failure?
Special Offer of 50% OFF inside
I’m not a professional dancer — not even slightly. But once upon a time, I thought I might be. During my twenties, dancing wasn’t the only thing I tried, gave up on, or grew bored of. I experimented with and perhaps “failed” at many things. It’s in my nature to keep changing what I do, learning new skills and launching new things — which once felt like a failing.
When I look back at my professional/creative endeavours, I see how much I held myself back. I stayed small and didn’t take big risks. I didn’t make the art I really wanted to make, or say what I really wanted to say.
As a result, I didn’t have much success. It turns out that staying safe gets you absolutely nowhere. It was only when I was brave enough to do the things I was terrified of doing that things began to change…
Fear of failing blocks our creativity and prevents us from living the lives we want to lead, but it isn’t really failure that we’re afraid of.
It’s a fear of rejection, of pain, of feeling like we tried our best and still came up short. It’s a fear of not being seen, not being good enough, not being worthy. What if I take that risk and it doesn’t work out?
No matter how often we get on top of these fears, they can crop up at unexpected moments — an obstacle on the road sent to trip us, as we’re wired to protect ourselves from the unknown.
Usually, we don’t even realise what’s getting in the way of what we want to do — we just know that taking small steps forwards can sometimes be impossible, and a looming sense of apprehension hangs over us.
What is Pathways?
Welcome to a new series of short, sweet, “lessons” in creativity and wellbeing.
These are all designed to be digestible, actionable steps that you can take TODAY to start getting unblocked.
I have been a self-employed creative entrepreneur for the majority of my adult life, and I’ve made countless mistakes and missteps along the way — from which I’ve learnt a lot.
In this series, I’ve condensed years of trials, errors, and mistake-making into these practical Pathways to get you out of your own way, to hone your creativity, and to unleash the potential you might not even realise has been curbed.
As this series is behind the paywall, I’ve created a special deal to give you 50% OFF here. Upgrade to receive the whole series plus more, for only €30/year):