Have you ever been really excited about a new idea… so excited that you dove right in, guns blazing?
I know I have.
But nearly as many times, my excitement has waned… I have stalled… and my great idea has remained incomplete and unfinished for months.
Why do I do this?
I’ve always suspected it had something to do with fear of failure — but saying “It’s because of fear of failure” doesn’t seem to fully explain my behavior.
I’m really not afraid to fail.
Obviously, I don’t like failure. But I’m not afraid of it.
So I knew the explanation for my behavior was deeper than fear of failure. It was more complex than that. But what was it?
I’ve thought about this multiple times through the years, but I’ve never quite articulated it.
Then, just a couple weeks ago, a thread about overcoming self-sabotage started up on Perry Marshall’s private Google Group. And one of the participants said this:
“John Reese used to say that a lot of people fail to complete tasks because as long as you don’t finish you still have the hope of a potential winner, but once you actually finish it might turn out to be a loser.” -E.Y.
Aha! That’s it! I thought.
For me, it’s no so much fearing failure as it is clinging to hope.
So long as my idea hasn’t actually been launched then I can still keep hoping it’s going to be a big success.
And that is why I’ve sabotaged my progress at various times.
I’m not proud of it, but I take full credit for it.
And I’m working to correct it.
What I’ve realized is that the failure of one idea is not that big a deal. After all, I’ve got LOTS of ideas. Too many. So the quicker I can implement, the quicker I can separate the good ideas from the duds.
Anyway, I hope these observations help you gain more insight into how you operate — so you can overcome self-sabotage and get on with creating, implementing, and launching your ideas.
-Ryan M. Healy
About Ryan M. Healy
Ryan Healy is a direct response copywriter. Since 2002, he has worked with scores of clients, including BoostCTR, Alex Mandossian, Terry Dean, and Pulte Homes. He writes a popular blog about copywriting, advertising, and business growth, has been featured in publications like Feed Front magazine, and is a regular contributor to WordStream.com, BoostCTR.com, and MarketingForSuccess.com.
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Nice observation, Ryan. I’m going to look out for where I’m doing this in my own life. The ironic thing is, the more you cling to, the less space you make for newer, fresher, better ideas and projects to come into fruition.
Thank you, Janet. :-)
Ryan –
I’ve also come to realize, through some self-study (Strengths Finders 2.0), that one of my strengths is being a learner. So often I mix the love of learning with the thought that I have to ‘do’ something with it, when that’s not necessarily true. For me, it’s a kick just to discover and learn without any commitment to using it. I’ve also discovered that if I’m going to try to do something with my knowledge, the faster I go through the Perry Marshall “Investigate, Test, Commit or Abandon” cycle with some real numbers and skin in the game, the faster I know whether I just learned something that’s got market value.
I like that sequence: Investigate, Test, Commit or Abandon.
Also: I think I’m a bit like you, Scott. I love to learn for learning’s sake. It’s just fun.
Good observation, Ryan. I am going to try out this in my own life .
great share , really thanks for sharing
Ryan,
I will admit that when I read this post, I immediately said out loud, “@%&!, that’s it!” Glad my kids weren’t nearby to tarnish my saintly image in their eyes. :-D
I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I think you hit the nail right on the head. Thanks for articulating that.
John
Haha… yes, you wouldn’t want to tarnish your saintly image. :-)
Glad this post resonated with you, John!
Ryan
Thanks Ryan for the share. It in fact when I think about newer ideas to enrich my life, I often find I come back to the ones that I live by today.
Ryan-
This does make a lot more sense to me than the “fear of failure” mantra…
In fact, it’s spot on. I have to work on changing my “procrastination makes me hopeful” to “action makes me successful”!
That’s a great way to put it, John!
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