Don't Let Fear Hold you Back

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” -Wayne Gretzky.  How many times have you seen this quote strung up on a banner or painted on the wall?  It’s everywhere.  But have you ever stopped and taken the time to think about what it really means?  I’m not Gretzky, I think my high school coach can attest to that, I can’t speak on his behalf, but this quote really means a lot to me and I encourage you to think about it as well. Too often the fear of failure holds people back.  That fear of failure prevents people from even taking the chance.  They don’t even give themselves the chance to see what could have been. If you’re here reading this entry you’re most likely like me.  You’re truly your toughest critic.  Which, in my opinion is a great thing; I wouldn’t have it any other way.  But unfortunately, it is also a bad thing, and you need to recognize this. We’re not the ones to give up, but at the same time, we will do anything in our power not to lose.  Which may sound like a good trait, but sometimes this means we won’t even try.  We know that some things may be tough and that there’s that chance that we’re going to fail.  This is where we need to improve. You’re body is incredible and is capable of doing way more than you or I give it credit for.  Go out and sign up for that competition, go out and face your fear of failure.  Think about it, what is the absolute worst case scenario?  You come up short and get made fun of?  Who cares?  If anything that failure will motivate you to push harder for the next competition.  But that’s only the worse case scenario, that’s not even what will most likely happen.  If you’re like me you also tend to underestimate yourself and you don’t even realize how great of a chance you actually have.  So go out, sign up, have fun, and give it all you have, you may be pleasantly surprised.   Jack Burdick is majoring in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota and along with hisweightlifting workouts, he competes in marathons and ultra-marathons (50 mile races) and is looking to earn a Cross-Fit title or to be recognized with The World’s Fittest Man title which is reserved for an ultra endurance power athlete.