Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
Fear of failure and fear of uncertainty seem to be cousins. Both cause me to procrastinate too often. I miss out on a lot of accomplishments I could have obtained if not for those things.
What's the expression? We're only responsible for the effort, not the result.
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Alan Klein
What's the expression? We're only responsible for the effort, not the result.
The Bhagavad Gita said that a long time ago.
Chapter 2, Verse 47:
karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana
ma karmaphalaheturbhurma te sangostvakarmani
You have the right to work only but never to its fruits.
Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
Kumar
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
Interesting indeed, and insightful.
In other words, we don't really require certainty to proceed. (Though, we may think that we do.) As a statistician during my career, I know that we "manage" uncertainty by thinking in terms of likelyhoods and probabilities. Thinking in this manner was helpful for my wife and I in making our way through the pandemic, where certainty wasn't possible.
But while I know all about likelyhoods and probabilities, I do indeed like certainty when it's attainable. :) Consequently, I'm adamant about doing my Zone System testing, I'm a fiend when it comes to darkroom consistency, and I use large format cameras.
I'm similar in that I probably also don't have a particularly large output. I like producing photographs. But, a big part of this hobby for me has doing all of the above. It brings together art, science, and mathematics in a way that I thoroughly enjoy.
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
I was thinking of procrastinating today, but I wasn't sure how that would turn out, so I think I'll get to it tomorrow.
I have experienced the same challenge with my own work in recent years, trying to clarify an approach to the new portraiture I decided to begin. Too much time preparing and studying, though proper caution with Covid certainly extended the process.
On the positive, speaking as one who has been obliged to live daily with various personal and much broader uncertainties over decades, my view is that I can deal with most anything if I have a perspective. That may sound counter-intuitive at first. For example, one of your children becomes afflicted with a series of symptoms that no one seems able to trace, or with a disease for which raging diagnosis and treatment controversies leave you with little but question marks on how to proceed and what the long-term future holds. You develop a perspective by charting a course, even if it is short-term to get you to the next point of decision. It allows you, and others, to act rather than be paralyzed by the uncertainty.
I have put this to use innumerable times, both for myself and others involved. It doesn't pretend to be the solution to every problem; it's simply a means to move forward.
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
Uncertainty vs. Failure
Both are useful tools.
Uncertainty provides the motivation, and the failures find the means.
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
Certainty is never obtainable. Are you certain your roof won't collapse in the next five minutes?
There's a difference between the need for certainty and procrastination. Some people have a fear of failure, even when it is unlikely -- so they don't act. Others have a fear of success, even when it's almost certain -- so they don't act.
Different mindset, same outcome.
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
As I get older, I find I'm losing all my fears. Fear of failure, fear of embarrassment and humiliation, fear of not accomplishing my goals, fear of disease and death... Whatever happens happens, and fear just takes up space in my head rent-free. I'm not afraid of trying things anymore just because I'm not 100% certain I will succeed.
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jody_S
As I get older, I find I'm losing all my fears. Fear of failure, fear of embarrassment and humiliation, fear of not accomplishing my goals, fear of disease and death... Whatever happens happens, and fear just takes up space in my head rent-free. I'm not afraid of trying things anymore just because I'm not 100% certain I will succeed.
That's great. Wouldn't it be better if this happened when we were younger? The other expression is why do we get wise when we're older when we could have used that wisdom when we were younger so we wouldn;t screw up so much? It seems like God set it up backward. But then again, we need youth and recklessness to try things when we're younger. So maybe it all works out in the end?
Re: Uncertainty vs. Failure
There have always been too many young people that don't have enough fear of failure, and they end up dead or in a wheelchair for life. Fear is a good thing if it's realistic, but it can often grow into paranoia, unfortunately. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately, and like COVID, it's highly contagious.