What if you succeed?

but who has conquered fear... there is greater fear for the unknown... so, how do we fight our windmills? surely, not sir galahad's way...

Hi iwrite, I really have to agree with these learned persons. Some of us fear that if we put ourselves out there, trying to be successful and we fail, we will look like fools. I am one of those people who want to try one thing or another, but just think that I can't do it for the lack of knowledge, finances, or just plain fearful. So, I just forget about doing it or even pursuing the possibility that I might be successful. I am a failure by default, I didn't even try to fulfil my dreams. The day isn't over yet, I am still alive and have a chance to dust off some of those hopes and dreams and put a plan into action. I am now a little more motivated to try some ventures. Will I fail or succeed, I won't know if I don't try.

Your thoughts are wonderful and so true. Many people do not live life out of fear that they will fail at something. It is a guarantee that if you decide to take chances you will fail at least one thing in your lifetime. That is alright with me. I am going to begin a new job this week and all I can think about is the opportunities it is going to present for me to succeed. Though I have failed at things in my life I do not fear failure and I now do not fear success. I am excited about it all. Failure only makes me stronger, if I survive it!!!!

Success is not meant for everyone and it is not easy to be successful. Why people think about failure first is the simple reason - there is a lot of hard work, many a times - a lot of sufferings, pain and other negative things that go as an investment to success. But then when you fail!!! It is quite difficult to recover from this failure. Many common people are more concerned about this. So they keep on asking. As for the people who say We should think "What If I Succeed", they forget that there is nothing after success. It is something that is better realized and felt rather than being thought about. The whole life you spent on doing something... then you achieve it. You are so very happy and fulfilled about it that there is nothing left for you to accomplish. That is the reason why you see people successful with only one thing in life. Gone are the days when the same person could invent or discover quite a couple of things. Today you find people inventing/dicovering only one thing in their lifespan.

This is a inspirational discussion that I need to ponder on. Oftentimes I think of success as a very difficult task to reach. I'm one of those people who is afraid to try that I might fail. I've never thought of asking myself "What if I succeed?". More often I'd say to myself "Yes, I CAN do this!" without even trying. I keep on thinking of all the what if's in life that makes me realize this world is not a easy place to live. I have succeeded in a lot of things, but I think it isn't enough and I feel unworthy of the success I have achieved. Having so much promises to myself makes me a failure... So how about I should try thinking and doing things in a positive way. Start small, dream big and ask myself, "What if I succeed?" This time.. I will have to face my fears... Thank you for posting this discussion.. Happy mylotting everyone!

I think, it is always true. The success is not that you have achieved, I would rather say success is that even when the odds were low you have tried. There is nothing as humiliation, yet we feel humiliated when we fail. The best way to overcome the fear of loosing is to jump into it. I remember Osho's quote - In order to cross the river, you must go through it, you must jump into water, running along the bank won't help.

Very timely advice for me. Thanks iwrite.

I can't say I never tried anything in fact some of the biggest mistakes I made were from trying (without considering) I just jumped in, because I thought opportunities won't knock twice well I was wrong LOL learning from these, I am now more cautious I don't go after opportunity unless I know for sure advantage and disadvantage or at least, it wouldn't cost me too much if it didn't go as planned people don't really fear the failure itself they fear the 'shame of failure' because society worships successful people and highlights are placed on the success, not the struggles of getting there this goes the same with those who fail everyone would say 'shame, it could've been...' instead of 'go try again!' I know, because I've been through it in my youth

YEah!! All of them sounds so true, and fear is definitely an obstacle to success. haha =D Failure and success is just a fine line from each other. IN order to succeed, one must not be afraid of taking risk, for no risk no gain. When everything is going too smoothly, we wont learn things the hard way and thus we will take it for granted. We need to fall, in order to walk. In life, who has not failed before right? Failure is in our life along with fear, but we have always managed to conquer them. BUt if we are confident, why should we fear?

I like this idea. It makes so much sense. Most facts do when you finally learn them. Some interesting quotes. I like the thought process this brings with it. I will try to take this in and see how I feel about it.

I agree so much with this quote. It is fear and also the unknown that imprisons us. So what if we make it? What will happen then? How will we make it? What does it really mean to make it? Great post!

I think that fear of failure is something that is very natural for human beings. That said, there are a lot of times I think about how my life would change if I am successful with all of the endeavors that I take in my life. I would love to have the opportunity to make a lot more of myself than my parents were able to do. If I am to be successful in my life, I want to be able to take care of both my children and my mother because that is something that my elders weren't able to do.

This is good post, I like it! . I remember what my ex boss told me to have positive think. He assumed that our thought is like a dog. Positive think is white dog and Negative think is black dog. If we feeding white dog always, then white dog will grew up and vice versa. This mean that if we always have positive thinking, we will success.

hi iwrite, i think the sweet taste of success after many tries gives a nice lingering sensation and will motivate one to do some more.

Well, J.K. Rowling is a rarity. Also, for the record it took her seven times and several publishers until "Harry Potter" was published, it didn't happen over night, and she never thought for a second that it would become the hit that it did. This also goes for Stephanie Meyer, Stephen King, Sherman Alexie, and several other writers and authors. If you are going to write, be ready for rejection, be ready editing, and be ready to take a lot of criticism.

Hi iwrite, This is a great discussion and I wholeheartedly agree. Fear is our biggest problem and many people die without ever having lived. Some are too conservative, too cautious, and are always afraid of failing instead of thinking What if I succeed? Blessings.

"The greatest sin is fear" "We can overcome the difficulty by constant practice, We must learn that nothing can happen to us, unless we make ourselves susceptible to it." By Swami Vivekananda. Generally speaking it very true that all the stumble block are within us which hinders our success,if we really understand it and fight it out there is no stopping to it,success will kiss our feet.Its the will power and not to loose HOPE is what is need of the Hour.

Yes it is very much true. Fear is the number one obstacle to success.

If at first you do not succeed you must try and try again. I live by these words my friend as the only way when you down it up. Fear is a normal integral part of success, as with so many things rapidly changing we cannot help but wonder if success is really possible. Living with the what if and not the know what, is very confusing, but when you try again unless a person is seriously unwilling to learn success would never be achieved.

if i succeed in my profession well ill help my family who support with me all the way...but for now i just need to wait for it....faith in lord...