Don’t be afraid to spread your wings……you might land somewhere exciting.
Of course, you might just land somewhere not so good by spreading your wings and trying something new. The fear of landing somewhere bad, of messing things up, of people thinking we are a failure/stupid/reckless etc. is what stops many of us from trying. But should it? Stop and have a look at the most successful people you know. Have they always gotten things right? Is everything they have ever tried been a success? Has anyone ever ridiculed them for their ideas or what they are attempting to achieve?
In reality, no one succeeds at everything all of the time. Walt Disney was once fired because he lacked imagination and didn’t have any good ideas. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first television job for being too emotionally invested in her stories- that same emotional investment in her stories and her passions has helped her succeed. Henry Ford had five failed businesses before he established the Ford Motor Company. There are many more stories. So what is the difference between successful people and those who don’t succeed? They learn from their failures and they try again!
There is a saying that the difference between failure and success is where you stop. If you stop the first time something doesn’t work, you have failed. If you keep going until you succeed, then you haven’t failed at all- you just had some bumps along the way. If you look at failure as a learning opportunity, as a bump in the road rather than your end point, it makes trying in the first place not being so scary.
Many people get scared when trying something new, many people worry about failing or what other people think. However, if you keep learning and keep trying until you succeed then you don’t fail in the long run. Anyone who doubts you when you set out to achieve something will no longer doubt you when you are a success. Once you are a success they will admire you and probably deny ever having doubted you.
So why not a saying that says spread your wings and achieve your goals? I like the idea of spreading your wings and landing somewhere exciting because things don’t always go according to plan. The place where we think we will land often is not where we end up. That is not necessarily a bad thing as along the way, we grow and learn and adapt. It might just be that the place you land is better than you could ever have dreamed.
You might not know where you will end up but if you don’t spread your wings, if you don’t try to move outside of your comfort zone and do something different, chances are things won’t change. You won’t achieve those spectacular new things you admire others for. You will still be in the same place.
So don’t be afraid to spread your wings……. you might land somewhere exciting.