I have several friends who had babies about a year ago.  As their children are learning how to walk, I’m watching videos on Instagram of the kids taking a few steps before they inevitable lose their balance and fall. In (most of) these videos, the children don’t cry when they fall. Instead, they look up with excitement as if to say, “hey, did you see all those steps I just took?” before getting up to try again. 

The lesson that we’ve learned as babies is that you can do something great—take a few steps—and then make a mistake—causing you to fall—but that fall doesn’t overshadow all the steps you just took. Actually, that fall is a great opportunity to reflect on how amazing those steps were!

So, why is it that as adults, and especially in our professional lives, so many of us are held back by a fear of failure? We don’t apply for that promotion because what if we don’t get it? We don’t speak up in meetings because what if our opinion isn’t well received? We don’t start our own companies because what if they don’t succeed? Sound familiar?

I’m guilty of having this fear, too. For years, I’ve had ideas about creating a blog, and taking leaps professionally. But, as you would notice if you reviewed my career moves, I don’t jump into something new unless I have a pretty strong certainty that I’ll succeed. I’m not sure where this comes from. I know that at one point in my life (as a baby) I was able to try new things and make mistakes, only to get right back up and try again. When I finally started this blog, I had to first convince myself that the worst that could happen is that no one would read what I write. There is not too much of a risk involved in that. Oh, and I had a small fear that someone would read my blog and publicly disagree with me, dragging my name through the mud. This one seems pretty unlikely. And, hey, any publicity is good publicity, right? 

(If you’re wondering, at this point I'm about 4.5 months into blogging. My articles are read by friends and colleagues, and some of their friends and colleagues. And no one has dragged my name through the mud. Phew!) 

The practice of launching this blog has also helped me to remember my ability to try new things professionally, even when I’m not certain of a successful outcome. I know, I know, it’s all in the journey. And as I’ve been working on my blog, and inevitably working through some hiccups and fast fails, my fear of failure has slowly started to fade away as I’m embracing my inner child.