The Best And Worst Things Happen When You Are Scared

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" — Charles Dickens

The moment your crush says 'Yes' to a date and makes you feel ecstatic. When you pitch to investors and feel on top of the world after receiving funding for your start-up. That time you ask your boss for a raise and walk out of the meeting with a big smile.

All of these things could easily have backfired.

Your crush breaks your heart and tells she never wants to date you. The investors fry your start-up idea and make you feel like a total failure. The boss tells you he will not consider your raise and you should start looking for a new job.

Success and failure are two sides of the same coin. Schrödingers cat looming over you in superposition, until it is revealed.

Our mind is wired to protect our fragile self against failure. The bigger the dream, the more scared we get. What if it all doesn't work out? How will we recover from the fall?

In exchange for a false sense of security, we give up our dreams and sell ourselves short. We cave in and choose the safe way. The comfort of following a path paved by others. The instinctual safety of following the herd and blending in.

The biggest risk in life is not doing what you want. To place a bet you will have the guts and freedom to do it later.

Our mind is amazing at telling us perfectly valid reasons why now is not the right time to take the leap. The smarter you are, the stronger your ability of self-delusion. Now is never the moment, later is always better. Why face your fears when you can leave it for your future, better-equipped self to tackle?

The truth is you will never be ready. It will always be scary.

The alternative is to carve your own way. To grab the moment and make the leap now. To embrace the fear and ignore all the excuses why it will never work. To face the unknown and go from problem to problem until it works or it doesn’t.

It is better to fail chasing your dreams than to never have tried. The worst thing that can happen is that you need to get back on your feet again with a bruised ego.

And then, you try again until you succeed or give up. Failure is an essential ingredient to success.