“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” ~ John F. Kennedy
Fear of failure is something that haunts most of us. It keeps us from trying many things in our lives. We should not fear failure. We should dread, instead, the immobility that grips us when we allow fear to control our lives.
Where would we be if the Wright Brothers feared failure? Where would we be if Jonas Salk feared failure? Where would we be if Lewis and Clark, Michelangelo, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Peter, St. Paul, and a whole host of others feared failure? No where. That’s exactly where we would be. No where.
Failure is inevitable at times. That comes with the territory of being flawed people in a flawed world. However, failure does not mean defeat. If we fail miserably but learn from that failure, we are able to come back and succeed in ways unimaginable. You could say that we succeeded precisely because we failed.
Too many people do not go very far in their spiritual lives because they fear failure. They do not want to learn a new way to pray because it might be uncomfortable. They do not want to take the opportunity to engage in service to others because they are worried about how they will react. They allow the fear of failure to keep them from reaching out and deepening their relationship with God and with others.
Will we fail in some attempts? Absolutely. That’s part and parcel of who we are. Will we learn from our failures and come back to succeed? Only if we dare to overcome the fear of failure.
FAITH ACTION: Let not a fear of failure keep you from living your life as you ought.