Many people have been stopped in their tracks by the fear of failure. Many have had moments of inspiration and hope, new ideas and dreams, only to be overwhelmed by the fear of failing. What makes this fear so diabolical is that you never get the chance to see if it would work. You simply fail before trying by not trying at all. You see, quitting before trying is failing before trying. Let me illustrate with a recent experience.
I had just purchased an itunes gift card from Walmart and needed to return it that same day. An itunes gift card is different from other gift cards in that until you scratch off the silver film on the back to reveal your unique card number, it’s just an pretty piece of plastic. I attempted to return it, but the costumer service clerk refused to even try. She kept telling me about their gift card return policy, which I admit I am mostly ignorant about, but she wouldn’t even try. So I left disappointed when the nice lady who checks your receipts at the door told me to go back and speak to a manager. So I did. I was very polite about it. Once I asked that same clerk to speak to a manager, she said, “well lets just give it a try first and see,” to prove to me that there was nothing they could do. Then…… it worked. She was very kind and apologetic, and I was reminded of this simple truth, Try. Yes, you might fail. But don’t try and you’ve failed already.
