The Fear of Going "All-In"

Everyone has moments in their life when they want to quit.  Usually it's because they're unhappy with their situation.  But sometimes it can be more than that.  Maybe they are afraid of failure and it seems easier to not try in the first place rather than face the possibility of trying and failing at something.  There's a chance that they have failed at so many things in their life, both big and small, that the idea of failing one more time is just too much to handle.  Does that sound familiar?

Here's a real example from my own life.  The story is a bit long, but I think it holds a lesson we can all learn from.  So keep reading until the end and hopefully you will be able to apply this to your own life.

​You might not know this about me, but I tend to be an "all or nothing" type of person.  Typically I see things in either black or white.  Either I'm in or I'm out.  Either I like something or I don't like it.  I rarely see things in shades of gray.  So when it comes to my life I tend to be pretty decisive and can easily make decisions to figure out what I want to do.  

The one exception to this seems to be my Beachbody business.  I signed up as a coach three months ago and at first I was "all-in".  I would stay up late watching YouTube videos on how to run a successful network marketing business and I would write page after page of notes on how to improve my social media presence.  

Slowly something changed.  I started to spend less time on my business and wasn't quite as eager to run through my daily list of tasks. It was frustrating because I could remember how exciting this was in the beginning.  How could I go from loving something so much to feeling like it was weighing me down, all in such a short period of time?

Thankfully it didn't take me long to figure out what was going on.  As a result of being a coach I had been spending time every day working on personal development.  I soon realized that I was letting the fear of failure weigh me down.  I was terrified that I would fully commit to my Beachbody business and eventually fail majorly, so I was holding myself back from going "all-in".  Essentially, I was half-assing my way through every day.

I was afraid to quit because I knew I would always wonder what could have happened if I had stuck to it.  And I was afraid to keep going because I didn't want to fail at something that I truly cared about.  So I was stuck in the middle, wondering when I would be able to make the decision on which way I was going to move forward.

That moment happened yesterday.  I received some discouraging news about my business and it seemed like it was a sign that I should just give up.  It was the perfect excuse to quit while I was ahead and resign myself to the fact that this wasn't going to work.  My head was telling me that this was the moment when I needed to walk away from my business.

But something strange happened.  I was feeling conflicted even thought I had been given  the perfect excuse to quit.  Although my head was telling me to give up, my heart was telling me that I needed to keep going.  I spent some time listening to the war going on between my head and my heart, not knowing which side was going to win.

And then it hit me.  I knew without a doubt that I was going to stick to my business and not give up.  Despite the fact that I felt terrified to officially go "all-in", it also felt amazing to finally know that I had overcome my hesitation and would be giving myself the chance to do something I knew I wanted to do.

Now that I've had this epiphany, I feel more confident than ever in my future.  It's ironic, actually, that a piece of bad news could somehow convince me to become more dedicated to something instead of making me run away from it.

So you might be asking yourself "how does this relate to me and my life"?

I think anyone can learn a lesson from this story.  We are all faced with tough decisions in our lives.  It's usually tempting to take the easy road and quit.  But I'm here to tell you that everything truly happens for a reason.  And if you feel like quitting something just because you might fail at it, there's a good chance that it's something that really matters to you.  

Why else would you be so afraid of failing?  I think it's because you care about the outcome and you're afraid to see what could happen.  It may seem scary to go "all-in" or fully commit to something.  If you find yourself in this situation, simply ask yourself how you would feel looking back on this moment knowing that you could have done something that truly mattered to you if only you hadn't given up too soon.

Amazing things can happen when we step outside of our comfort zone.  So I am challenging you to do something that scares you.  I think you'll be surprised at how good it feels!

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I hope this post was helpful and you learned something from it!  Don't forget to bookmark a link to this blog and also share this post with a friend who could use some help stepping out of their comfort zone.  

Leave a comment below or shoot me an email at [email protected] if you would like to discuss what you've got going on in your life.