When you’re afraid of failure, it makes sense to not even try.
I used to do this all the time.
When I was eleven, I wanted to be Clara in the Nutcracker. I’d just finished playing a “cavalry soldier” in the Ballet Arkansas presentation of Nutcracker and I knew I had nine months to prepare for next year’s auditions.
But in order to play Clara, I would need to learn how to double-pirouette.
Foolproof strategy…
I made a plan: I’d practice every day…I’d do the pirouette drills we learned in class…I’d maybe even ask my teachers for help.
And then I got scared.
What if I tried my hardest and prepared for a whole year for the audition…and then didn’t get the part?
So I did nothing.
When the audition day finally came, I fell over trying to do a single pirouette…which I used to be able to do.
My second audition was worse than my first.
Know why? I wrecked my own confidence before I’d even started.
When voices start whispering in my ear that I’m a failure, I have a great strategy.
It’s a little more sarcastic than you’d expect, but it goes like this: I say, “I’m glad to know you still think I’m failing. But God doesn’t and I think I’m gonna pick his side.”
“I’m glad to know you still think I’m failing. But God doesn’t and I think I’m gonna pick his side.”
Our worth is not in what we do. (At least that’s what all the amazing, annoyingly right people in my life have been telling me.)
God calls us “beloved children” and “friends.” Not “failure” or “mistakes.”
If God says one thing is true and the voices in your head say something else, whose side will you pick?
What’s true?
If you’re a writer, I have an amazing challenge for you. Now that you know how to conquer your fear of failure, you should join the Spring Writing Challenge at my school.
It’s a free online event. You can even invite friends!
