What would you do if you weren't afraid to fail?

Posted on 07-29-2014 by Christina Alge
Tags: career setbacks , career advancement , Upgrading Your Skills , career management

Lately this quote has been making the rounds, but it may not be the right question to ask. Sure, this makes sense as a mental exercise, but let’s face it – law school (and being a lawyer) is pretty scary for most people. You are in a new environment where you don't really understand the rules, the system is set up so you have to compete with the people who'd otherwise be your allies, and your immediate successes, or failures, are very public.

It's normal to feel intimidated. But - and this is a big but - feeling intimidated isn't a reason to give in to your fear.

You Just Have to Do Things Anyway. In fact, during the 2012 ABA Women in Law Leadership Academy speaker after speaker said basically the same thing when asked how she'd succeeded: "I went way outside of my comfort zone and I dealt with the discomfort until I figured out what I was doing."

So, the next time you're feeling afraid to do something, take that as a good sign! It means you're taking a risk, which gives you the opportunity to learn and grow.

Just don't sit around waiting for the fear to go away. It's not going to...so you may as well train yourself to deal with it. And act anyway!

The above article is an excerpt from the Lexis® Hub.