Fear is a helpful instinct that prevents us from putting ourselves in danger or taking on too much risk. The most common fear is the fear of failure.
But there’s only a certain level where fear should be avoided, otherwise it becomes a paralyzing agent that prevents us from achieving actual success.
Sometimes there’s no way around failure but to actually experience it. The statement “Failure is the best teacher” is a cliche for a reason; it’s a fundamental truth. We learn from our mistakes better than if we just read about it or live out the fear vicariously through others’ failures.
The human species is gifted with rational thinking, and it’s this same kind of higher intellect that enables us to make adjustments and find solutions for our problems. To paraphrase Einstein’s famous quote, it’s insane to do things repeatedly in the same fashion and then expect different results. So if you’ve failed the first time using method A, it’s time to try another method or apply a different mindset.
It used to be unorthodox to talk about flaws and failures. But this has been superseded - thankfully - by a new mentality and behavior that relishes on the success stories that are borne out of failures. Talk about your journey and how you were able to convert your mistakes into triumph. Normalize people stumbling, getting back up, and moving along.