The other day, I was somewhere in a parking lot waiting for someone, and found myself walking on a curb that ran along the grass. I followed the curb as it twisted around the parking lot and never fell off. There was a point where there was a break in the curb and I hopped to the other side and landed without any problem. I acknowledge that none of this is very impressive, but it made me wonder if I could do the same thing if the curb was 20 feet off the ground and falling off would be bad. No way. I believe the fear of falling would make it almost impossible to replicate what I did on a similar course far above the ground.
The fear of outcome might be the biggest impediment to success. Spending all of one’s time worrying about possible results takes away from time that could be spent ensuring success. Why do so many of us focus on the bad instead of focusing on the good? Wouldn’t we be happier if we expected the best but prepared to deal with the worst?
If the forecast for the day is 80 percent chance of rain and 20 percent of no rain, does it make sense to concede the day as a loss to the rain? Especially if, with a little prep, you can minimize the harm of the rain. Expect no rain, but take a rain coat or an umbrella and you maximize your chance of a good result. Sitting home and worrying about the possibility of rain does you no good.
As I have said in the past, I am not a very good golfer. That being said, nothing guarantees that am going to shank the ball or hit a blooper like worrying about the water hazard in front of me. The best way for me to hit a tree is to try not to hit it. Somehow in life, we tend to hit what we focus on, even if our focus is intended to prevent that result.
These examples are fairly innocuous, but I believe that the point made also applies to bigger events and challenges that are presented to us in our day to day lives. Passing on challenges because of the fear of failure helps to secure the possibility that your true potential is never met. There are few notable successes without someone first taking a chance. The “what if” is always there, but there is always the chance you could succeed. If you don’t succeed this time, you try again. You are not a failure because you don’t succeed, you become a failure when you quit and don’t try again.
The trying is really the fun part. Sometimes success only comes at the end, and the thrill is fleeting. Just like everything else in life, the best part is almost always the journey.
Take a moment and remember the dreams of years ago or consider the one thing you have always wanted to do but were afraid. Take your shot. That is not a recommendation to be reckless or ruin someone else’s life by your adventure, but if you want to do something, don’t you think you should try? They say that at the end, you will not regret the things you did, but that you will regret the things you did not do.
That means you are one day closer to regretting not trying, and if you like those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS, you don’t have another day to waste!
Bill James is a co founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Ark., where he practices exclusively in the are of Criminal Defense.