365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 30: On Looking Like a Foo l

You have to look like a fool while you’re looking for answers you don’t

have.

—Dan Waldschmidt

 

29

A  frequently  overlooked  aspect  of  building  self-discipline  is  the  fact

that if you want to rise above mediocrity, you need to be fine with the fact

that you’ll undoubtedly make a fool of yourself every now and then.

Perhaps  you  tell  all  of  your  friends  that  you’re  going  to  build  a

business, but the business goes bankrupt and you lose all of your savings.

Maybe  you  set  a  goal  to  harness  the  power  of  your  self-discipline  to

learn public speaking (even though you’re terrified of standing in front of

the crowds), and then deliver a less than stellar performance.

This is normal — you have to fail your way to the success — but for

many people, it’s a blow they can’t withstand. They might be so harmed by

it that they’ll do anything to avoid future humiliation — including giving up

on their goals.

Failure, rejection, and humiliation are anything but pleasant. However,

the  ability  to  withstand  it  and  keep  going  is  one  of  the  key  differences

between  successful  individuals  and  those  who  fail  to  make  their  dreams

come true.

As  disagreeable  as  it  can  be,  accept  that  occasionally  looking  like  a

fool as a part of the process of becoming a successful person. Fortunately,

the more often you voluntarily expose yourself to rejection, humiliation or

failure, the easier it will be to handle the feelings they generate.

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