WEEK 11
Day 71: On Taking a Step Forward
If you don’t ask, the answer’s always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.
When I was battling against my shyness, I set a goal to approach attractive women in the street. I knew that if I did it several dozen times, I would most likely overcome my social fears and transform into a new person.
What helped me act (in spite of immense anxiety) was the realization that talking myself out of approaching a woman would certainly equate to a “no.” Approaching her and getting rejected couldn’t worsen my situation. In fact, I could only gain, because even a rejection was still a valuable lesson I wouldn’t learn if I chose inaction.
Likewise, many people hesitate to start working on their goals out of a fear of failure or self-doubt. They fail to realize that if they don’t a take a step forward, they’ll be in the same place. Even if they take an unsuccessful step forward and need to backtrack, they’d still gain some experience. There’s nothing to lose, and potentially a lot to gain.
Are there any goals you’d like to pursue, but are afraid that you’ll embarrass yourself or fail? Have you ever considered that not acting on them leads to sure-fire failure, while an attempt gives you
at least a small chance of success and a 100% chance of learning something new?