Failure stops many from reaching out for success. The future is a great unknown and no one knows that the decision made today will turn out perfect tomorrow. But inaction and procrastination won't produce either positive or negative results.

We fear failure because we fear to risk. Laying it all on the line leaves a queasy feeling in the heart. It's far better to just go with the status quo than take a chance, even if that chance has a reasonable chance of success.

But life isn't worth living without some risk being taken. Too often, it takes a major crisis before we respond. The situation becomes too intolerable that we must make a change, like the one with a major toothache who is driven to the dentist he'd otherwise not go for checkups.

It's natural to fear taking risks. It's inbred in us. Failure looms on the horizon and if we do fail, we feel that we are less than human. We feel vulnerable, open to criticism from those other people around us who appear to be perfect. So we procrastinate. Our current problems may go away if we do nothing to address them.

What we need to realize is that no man is perfect. That means that the decisions we make have the same chance of success or failure. We can certainly minimize the chance for failing at a task, being careful to have all the facts available before making a decision. But even the executives of multi-national corporations do make mistakes which impact on company profits and the employees.

We need to accept ourselves for who we are, instead of living under the fear of failure. We can't live up to an impossible expectation and we can't expect anyone else to live up to a standard we have of them. But acceptance doesn't mean abandoning hope or the urge to improve our current lifestyle. We are all driven to excel in some way and no one can be happy lounging on a sofa watching endless soaps all day long.

We need to put perfection aside and just do those things that are pleasing to us and further advance us toward the goals of happiness and fulfillment. Action is what dispels fear. Those who are active have little time for worry. They just do what must be done and if failure strikes, they don't collapse into depression, anxiety and insecurity.

Much of what we fear about failure is untrue. Failing in a task does not make us as less perfect than those who succeed. It does not mean that we are incapable of reaching wealth and happiness. Many who fail, wallow in their insecurities. Their failure becomes the sole excuse for not striving to better their lives.

Failure is a far better teacher than any university education. We learn through the experience of the failure. It teaches us that something didn't work so we should be trying a new method to get where we want to be.

And as long as we continue to try, we cannot fail. It's making the effort, regardless of the outcome, that is the measure of the success we will have.

Learn more about this author, Mario Carini.
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