Want Guaranteed Failure? Don’t Even Try

For a lot of my life, I was so afraid of failing that I didn’t do anything. Hence, I had a guaranteed failure.

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

I would reach a crossroads and just stand there, indecisive. There, right in front of me, were multiple choices. Yet I could not decide which — if any — to choose.

I’d have an idea for something I desired to do — but indecision paralysis set in. Nothing was done, and I did not leave the crossroads.

The thing that this would teach me over the years was how to develop a guaranteed failure. When you don’t try you’ve automatically failed.

When college wound down, I stood at a pretty vast crossroads. There were several choices before me.

• Where do I go? Return to the Midwest, stay out East, go somewhere new and unfamiliar?
• Do I pursue something in my degree field, theatre?
• Should I take any job in professional radio I can get, no matter where that lands me?
• Go back to school for a grad degree and/or teaching certificate?

Initially, I decided not to decide. I stayed in my college town another year, found a couple of jobs along the way and a place to live. But it was soon obvious I had to move on.