Fear Of Failure Is Ultimately Selfish!

Being a business executive for a long time (>25 years), reading autobiography by business icons is both joyful and educating. One of my recent read is by Henry Paulson, the Secretary of Treasury who served under George W. Bush's last term. A lot of people, including Henry's own mother and wife, didn't understand his decision to take up this job from the helm of Goldman Sachs. At a certain point, even Henry himself found it hard to accept this appointment and pushed back on it.

In his book, On The Brink, he talked about this time and how he overcame it at the end.

I was still struggling to decide. ... As I thought through my decision, I recognized that it was simply fear that was causing me such anxiety. Fear of failure, fear of the unknown: the uncertainty of working with a group of people I had hever worked with before and managing people I had never managed before.


Once I understood this, I pushed back hard against the fear. I wasn't going to give in to that. I prayed for the humility to do something not out of a sense of ego, but out of the fundamental understanding that one's job in life is to express the good that comes from God. I always believed you should run toward problems and challenges; it was what I told the kids in camp when I was a counselor, and I now told myself that again. Fear of failure is ultimately selfish; it reflects a preoccupation with self and overlooks the fact that one's strength and abilities come from the divine Mind. 

Yes, we should run toward problems and challenges, whether the challenge is to take up a new job or facing chronically illness. Fear of any kind is selfish and indeed it overlooks our strength and ability!

[This photo is taken by Derek Lee in Seattle!]