Call me a perfectionist.
I was that kid in high school who hated group projects because I like doing the work myself; I don't always trust others to do it right. I was also the kid who always got named group leader.
Go figure.
One of the things about my personal style that contributes to my perfectionist personality is I never consider failure as an option. For a while, that worked. I got all A's throughout high school and my freshman year of college, and I've been hired for all eight jobs I've ever applied for.
But I'm starting to realize that's not a realistic way to continue.
Sophomore year came, classes got harder, and I got my first B. Then my first B-.
While that's hardly failure by most standards, it was one of several things that made me realize life isn't always going to be so easy. But it can be a paralyzing thought to know that failure is inevitable. Seriously, think about it. You're going to screw something up. Probably soon. And it might even be something important. We're not just talking about school and work anymore. These are sad facts of life I denied for a good 19 years or so.
Knowing all this stuff, it's tempting (at least for me) to never try anything beyond what I know I can do. I mean, why try so much when you know it's not always going to work out? But that's no way to live, is it? I'm a big fan of not having any regrets. While yes, I'm the same age as Miley Cyrus, it's still working out pretty well so far. There's nothing in my life that I overwhelmingly wonder "what if?" about; I've taken some chances based on the fact that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't know how something would turn out. And if you ask me, that would be a lot harder than the occasional failure.
"Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." -Babe Ruth
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