You Never Know Unless You Try3 min read

Maybe it won’t work out. But maybe seeing if it does will be the best adventure ever.

— Unknown

There are many moments throughout our lives that require big decisions with unknown outcomes. Usually, these decisions are shaped by whether we should try or not. 

Sometimes, we might try something new and it doesn’t work out. Other times, it does work out. 

The Ruminating Mind 

Don’t get too deep, it leads to over thinking, and over thinking leads to problems that don’t even exist in the first place. 

— Jayson Engay

Ruminating is the repetition of thoughts, images, and feelings that your mind uses to tell made up stories for you to believe in — did you catch that— stories that are made up. 

Studies show that the effects of ruminating can have a negative impact on decision making. Decisions become more difficult to make and there’s less confidence in choices. 

The mind can be our most powerful ally or our cruelest enemy. With rumination, it can completely paralyze our ability to make decisions and try new things.

Courage Is The Key

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” 

— James Allen

It can take weeks, months, or even years before ruminating thoughts ever convert into an impulse of action. Fortunately, the illusions and lies that our mind creates can be eliminated sooner with a little courage. 

Courage gives us the confidence to process information and analyze risk more quickly and accurately. It allows us to confront our fears and start taking action despite them telling us not to move. 

Obstacles Are Inevitable

You never know what you can do until you try, and very few try, unless they have to. 

— C. S. Lewis 

Success and failure exist together — we can’t have one without the possibility of experiencing the other. If we try and we fail, it’s not the end. It’s an opportunity to reflect on our actions and find a new way to overcome any obstacles. 

Seth Godin says:

The person who fails the most will win. If I fail more than you do, I will win. Because in order to keep failing, you’ve got to be good enough to keep playing.

So, if you fail cataclysmically and never play again, you only fail once. But if you are always there shipping, putting your work into the world, creating and starting things, you will learn endless things.

You will learn to see more accurately, you will learn the difference between a good idea and a bad idea and, most of all, you will keep [trying].

Throughout all of life’s challenges and forks in the road — we never know what the future will be unless we try.

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