Is there something you would like to do, but are afraid you might fail?

Call a talk show on the radio. I am afraid I will say something stupid and forever brand myself as the ‘Idiot’ who made a arse of himself on the air.

When I was a little girl, I had 3 sisters, no brothers. We lived in the country. My father needed a helper, so I was it. I learned many things from him, because I was his gopher. He repeatedly told me that was nothing I couldn’t do. All I had to do was try, and if it didn’t turn out, then start over and don’t make the same mistakes. That made since to me, so as I grew I kept thinking, I can do that. When I was 4, I sat on a pillow and started sewing little flat things with my mothers sewing machine. As I got older I made almost all of my school clothes. My father taught me how to build and use tools. It came in handy when my husband and I built a spec house.

@roby, Trust me, you wouldn’t be the first. Besides, who would know who you are? Make some notes first so you can stay on topic and give it a go. What can happen that is so bad. Most all of us do not have all the answers, all we can do is try. So go out there and try.

Generally live my life!

@ZEPHYRA Are you saying you are afraid you will fail at life? What makes you think that?

pretty much everything at the moment that involves going outside my front door
but more specifically I guess I’m afraid to fulfil my potential…whatever that means…
move house
make new friends
stop eating to shove my feelings down
get my body well
feel good about myself
love myself
let go of the anger
let go of the pain
or not let go but feel it so it dissipates perhaps
what will be left after its gone
possibly scary things

@lynneblundell that is really sad. I am so sorry. My suggestion is to take one thing at a time and handle it, with or without proper care. Maybe set the wine aside for a while and clearly look at your options.

Seduce Megan Fox.

Fly in a helicopter…but I am afraid it might fail .. ;)

@Rangie yes, I say that due to a number of failures under my belt, can’t afford or tolerate more!

No, not really. I’m willing to try anything, as long as it won’t get me killed. My boyfriend was the opposite of me for much of his life. “I’ll be bad it” was his excuse for not trying tons of things. Luckily he’s not like that so much anymore. It’s not a good thing. You just have to put yourself out there and try things. Failing is not the worst thing in the world. And who knows? You might end up being successful.

Learn to swim

@DominicX exactly!

I see it as an attitude thing. If you think positively about it and look forward to the experience rather than attributing success or failure to it then more likely than not you’ll enjoy yourself. It’s not about being good at it, what matters is you were adventurous enough and self-assured enough to try something you were interested in when the opportunity arose. For those who find it hard, remember, it builds on itself, start small and be consistent and before long instead of wondering if you should try you be asking yourself why on earth you wouldn’t.

Surfing and snowboarding.

I would love to sail single-handed across the Atlantic Ocean. But the risk of failure in that endeavor (not to mention the cost) gives me pause.

I would love to go on a game show on TV and win a lot of money.

There are many things I would like to do, but it’s not a matter of being afraid, but more of being incapable due to weakness (yard work) or no talent (writing).

@davidbetterman Again, funny, your are not afraid you will fail, you are afraid the helicopter will fail. I tend to agree with you. I really don’t like flying so that is not something I would want to do.

@DominicX Yes, I am not interested in doing anything that might get me killed either. So I don’t worry about failing at those things, they are not wants. But most other things, if they are safe, moral, and legal, I will try it if it is something I want to do.

@CyanoticWasp Are you talking risk of failure because you might be harmed? Or is it because you just might not make it all the way due to one thing or another and have to escorted in. Personally, I would cheer your endeavor just for the effort.

@YARNLADY Not quite sure of what you mean (yard work) or (writing) It wouldn’t be about the money in this instance. It would be about going on the show. Just going in the show. So what if you don’t win, the fact that you went is an accomplishment. You will certainly lose if you don’t try at all.

@Rangie ah, no. I’m thinking of the risk of catastrophic failure, such as falling asleep at night in a sea lane, gear or hull failure leading to loss of the boat, loss in a storm and that sort of thing. And I don’t have that boat now, either, or prospects for one.

@CyanoticWasp So it isn’t really fear of failure, it is fear of loosing your life. I wouldn’t do it either. Shipping lanes can be very scary. My husband and I took a 68 foot sport fisher down to Cabo by ourselves. When you are tired and it is in the middle of the night, you can see their lights, but they don’t answer. I was left up on duty for about 4 hours from about 2am to 6, while he slept. I had several ships on radar. I called to them, but they didn’t answer. Pretty soon a Mexican boat came up behind us rather quickly, passing us on our port side. He was very large an close enough to send his waves to us almost immediately. There was another just ahead that would cross our bow, I just couldn’t figure out when. He did cross and I could see workers moving around on the boat. I got so nervous, I woke up my husband.
I don’t call fearing danger a failure.

Yeah, like walking on Mars.