The fear of failure grips us all. Who wants to look foolish? All of us would like to nail a challenge the first time. We all would like to appear perfect, flawless and successful.
The problem is that none of us know what will be successful from one moment to the next. What worked last year doesn’t this year. What doesn’t work now may be a viral success in the future.
We can create, but we can’t guarantee our creations will be a success. Hollywood is a great example. How many movies miss the mark? Yet nobody working on a movie wants it to be a bomb. How many movies were failures when they first came out, only to become cult classics?
Failure is an option if you want to create anything, try anything new or make a difference. Success doesn’t come from doing everything successfully. Success comes from showing up and doing the work consistently.
Like many of us, I have a bad case of FOMO: Fear of Missing Out. I like to be in the know. After all, if I am going to blog anything, I need to have information, right? If I am going to write about a business trend or positive philosophy, I need to be in the know, right?
Copyright Kevin Spear
My wife kids me when I get alerts for Twitter accounts I follow. I get breaking news alerts for the latest doom and gloom news. Occasionally, I need to put my phone on “Do Not Disturb” in order to break my train of thought. Even then, it is too easy for that thought train to derail and spill my brain granules all across the landscape.
In the pre Internet years, we had information gatekeepers in the form of editors and television producers. They sorted through all the junk for the public. Now, anybody with a phone can be an information provider. In one alert, I see news about a homicide, SWAT standoff or traffic travesty. The next moment, I get an alert about twenty surly kittens that will make you laugh your socks off. Even if I was doing nothing at the time, that is quite a whiplash of discordant information!
I know! Just the fact that I am writing a blog contributes to this tsunami. My goal is to contribute positively and be an encouragement in a negative world. Still, Here is one more town crier attempting to make his voice heard above the crowded field.
So here is for myself and for others that are feeling the same information wave overtake them.
Take a breath and relax. While there is always something going on in the world, I don’t have to be aware of everything. If it is important, I’ll hear about it sooner or later.
I don’t have to be the first one in my circle to hear breaking news. Let someone else have FOMO while I am getting things done.
I will be discerning in my information consumption. If I am getting down because of a series of bad news, I need to either get away from the news or find some good, uplifting stories.
FOMO and bad news can affect my productivity. I choose to have more than a Breaking News! perspective.
I’m a professional worrier. I worry about my kids. I worry about the world my future grandkids may one day inherit. I worry too much about finances, climate, politics, and if we have enough of the vital things like popcorn in the cupboard and ice cream in the freezer.
I come from a long line of worriers. I remember riding with my grandmother to pick up my grandfather from a trip. He was on a tour bus. The whole time, she was fretting that the bus could be in a fatal accident, that he possibly didn’t make the bus (it was long before cell phones), that she didn’t get the address to the pickup up site right. By the time she got all of her worries out, I was a nervous wreck and Grandpa was right there with group, waiting for us.
There have been times in my life when I’ve felt like the two goldfish in my illustration. I just know the bowl is going to burst any moment and I’ll be clinging for life. Can anybody relate?
Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
This proverb reminds me of what a comfort it is to give a word of encouragement. It can be easy to get discouraged by all the bad news and the prophets of doom. But an encouraging word lightens my load. It lets me see how silly my worries can be. An encouraging word gives me hope and reminds me that the vast majority of things I worry about never happen.
This is why I have decided to blog daily. Tomorrow, I will have blogged daily for three months. I hope if you have followed along, you have been encouraged along the way.
So be encouraged, my friend! Things aren’t as bad as they seem. At the very least, you don’t live in a cracked fish bowl!
There are times when we have legitimate fears. It can keep us from making foolish choices like betting all your paycheck on a horse, running in traffic without looking for traffic or speeding in a snowstorm. Foolish choices have repercussions.
There are other times when we make excuses for something we know we should be doing. Our imaginations work overtime while the rest of us are lazy.
The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”
This morning, I smelled a skunk when I went for my run. I hesitated for a moment, then when I checked, it was obvious its stench was nearby while the lovely creature wasn’t. I could have used that as an excuse not to run the moment I smelled the lovely aroma.
We can watch out for excuses that keep us from our full potential. Yes, life is risky and we need to take proper precautions. But It is also good to take some risks and get out there, even if there’s a chance a lion, tiger bear or skunk may be on your path.
Anxiety has become endemic in our society. We fear the present, future and the guy in the next car. The news terrifies us, marketing feeds on our insecurities and the workplace can be a challenging mix of deadlines, earning reports and lofty goals. Yes, it can weigh a person down.
Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
One cure for the common case of anxiety is an encouraging word. If you’re not getting much of it, start to become an encourager. A simple thank you does wonders. Make a point to see positives in every situation and call them out.
It’s too easy to worry. Let’s start to bring encouragement back to those around us. That said, I’d still be suspicious of courteous sharks!
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