We spend too much of our lives trying to avoid failure. When we inevitably slip, many of us waste even more time in denial or moping over it.
I get it. Nobody wants to fail. Nobody wants to feel like they weren't smart enough or couldn't follow through. But here's the thing:
Life isn't about keeping a perfect record. And there is no way to mitigate all risks.
So make decisions swiftly - not recklessly but don't delay beyond necessary. Correct mistakes even quicker. Have the self-awareness and humility to recognize when you are wrong.
When you fail, learn from it. When you fall down, get back up. In fact, I believe the act of bouncing back from defeat is as important a muscle as any other skill. The more you exercise it, the stronger you get and the easier it becomes.
Think of it this way:
You try something once. You fail. You feel devastated, because you had prepared for so long and placed all your hope into this one opportunity.
Now let's say you make 3 attempts and are still unsuccessful. You may feel disappointed, but I assure you the third time is not like the first. The third time, if you're like most people, would feel less personal. It would hold less weight - less power over you.
Either you'd be motivated to do better next time, or you simply try something else. But you wouldn't waste time moping. You wouldn't feel paralyzed by defeat. You would get up and keep moving forward.
When you let go of the pressure to excel every time, it frees you to explore, to hold things in perspective, and ultimately to achieve more.
You don't need to knock it out of the park on the first try. You just need to take more swings.