Irrational fear of failure is endemic in our society; I think it's the primary factor keeping most people from doing the great things they're meant to do. I've personally never met anyone who worked hard and fearlessly at a field and did NOT succeed. I know there must occasionally BE people who fail despite their best efforts, because I've heard "the stories," but there are SO MANY MORE who simply won't try because they've heard that you can't win.
Failing is to be strived for! If you aren't failing, you aren't at the edge of the envelope of your abilities, and if you aren't at the edge, you aren't stretching yourself, so you aren't learning, so you're just wasting time. Failing is how nature succeeds. Evolution works through failure of the poorest (they get et) more than survival of the fittest. Muscles grow because you work them to failure, and they then respond by getting stronger. Your spinal cord learns not to touch fire by getting burnt. Failure is not just handled gracefully by nature, it is critical.
So, seriously, have you failed today? If not, why the heck not? I mean, think of the consequences of failing, and if they aren't deadly and/or permanently disabling, then go ahead and bite off more than you can chew. Try to cook something that you just made up. Take a bike ride that's too far. Take your car into an empty parking lot and do donuts until you learn where the tires give. Start a project that might be too big for you.
