Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. ~ Albert Einstein

I believe in order for me to have the fullest – best – life I can, I need to be willing to take risks, and not be afraid of failure. This was not always the case. There was a time in my life – not long ago – when all my fears, and anxieties limited my interactions with other people, made my world smaller, and made it difficult for me to leave the house. Even before that though, my fear of failure, and/or looking bad in front of others kept me from taking risks – preventing me from fulfilling many of my dreams.

I know I am not the only person who has ever let fear get in the way of having an abundant life. There are many people who are so afraid to fail that they refuse to accept challenges, and live out their dreams. A truth I have discovered while in depression treatment is that to truly experience life – rather than living out each day the same as the next – we must take risks, and be WILLING TO FAIL over and over again, until we finally succeed. Living a full life means allowing the surprises in life to shape us into interesting people rather than turning us into boring, and bitter ones. I am not advocating reckless behavior, however, I am suggesting we often miss interesting adventures, and experiences because we are not willing to take risks.

Some new experiences I would like to try – to make my life more interesting – are:

• Take some writing classes.
• Travel around the United States.
• Write my book.
• Work out.
• Have a friend visit with me for a week.
• Take a cooking class.
• Go to a restaurant by myself.

I am going to challenge myself to try at least one new thing every month – keeping in mind that it is okay for me to fail. I am looking forward to the exciting stories my adventures – including the failures – will give me to share. Sharing the failures, will make the stories of my successes that much better.

What about you? Are you willing to fail? What are some new things you would like to try, but have not because of you are afraid you might fail? Please feel free to share your answers here.