For years I was too shy to make any significant changes in my life for fear that:
- I’d not follow through and end up failing
- I’d be humiliated when others saw I’d failed
The problem with this is that these two fears kept me from making beneficial changes in my life. I let the potential downside prevent me from attempting anything. One reason I did this was I’d been taught that making my intentions public was a way of putting pressure on myself and thus ensuring I’d reach my goal.
The only problem was…it didn’t work.
Instead of aiding my goal achievement activity, announcing my intent sabotaged it.
Sound familiar?
It doesn’t have to. I’ve found a sure-fire way to eliminate these two fears and open myself up to limitless possibilities. Want to hear what it is?
Keeping my mouth shut.
That’s right, instead of publicly announcing my intent to do something – write a book, launch a subscription letter, or start a new project – I keep it to myself and just do it. Then I can talk about what I’ve done and the results I’ve experienced.
If what I try doesn’t work out, no one knows and thus I do not suffer embarrassment. If what I’m trying doesn’t work out I can stop the activity and choose to learn from the experience instead of being embarrassed by public failure.
My life is my laboratory (so is yours)
Conducting experiments with my life is something I have always done, but I only recently recognized it as experimentation. Here of some of my more notable (and public) experiments:
- Experiment: Enrolled in college
- Results: 1) dropped out 2) dropped out again 3) Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology
- Experiment: Attended medical school in San Francisco
- Result: Graduated with a medical degree
- Experiment: Got married
- Result: Divorced
- Experiment: Got married again
- Result: Divorced again (note to self: do not repeat this experiment)
- Experiment: Rode downhill on a bicycle with eyes closed (age 13)
- Result: Hit a parked car, busted my face, and have permanently embedded asphalt on my right anterior forearm (ditto on the repetition thing)
There have been hundreds of additional experiments and there are some going on right now (none of which involve marriage or bicycling).
