#330 – How are you ensuring your own failure?

Behavioral economics tells us that choices, in fact, can be too many. A vast array of options in front of you muddies the choosing process––as any online shopper knows.

As an executive coach, I often supported clients seeking jobs. One mistake I saw repeatedly was wanting "to keep my options open." They'd take any job vaguely related to what they wanted to do, as long as it paid.

This is a mistake, I argued, because unless you put all your attention, focus, and energy on the thing you want, you'll get distracted and lose sight of your path.

Then, as a job seeker, I fell into the same trap: I kept all the doors open. Open to take any job that would hire me: sales, customer service, business development, corporate training, translation. Writing.

I applied and waited for the companies to reject me, as though that would show me my path.

Not committing to what I wanted was an act of non-congruence, of insincerity.

I did it because I believed my Ego when it whispered, "who do you think you are to call yourself a writer?"

My True Self was calmly waiting, but the plaintive voice of the Ghost of Undervaluing was louder when it told me, "you can only get what they give you––just be content. Who are you to ask for what you want?"

Closing the doors to those potential opportunities feels risky––because, what if?

But the thing is, unless I do, unless I commit to one single door, I'll never recognize the right opportunity when it appears.

What doors will you close to commit to your success?

Love,

Carolina