By my desk I have a card from a coaching friend that says, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”    It is fairly standard coaching question.  It is also a good question. I think about it from time to time and occasionally am motivated to step out and do something even though failure could be an option.

This week I am doing something I’ve never done before.  The problem is I don’t know if I will fail or not.   I think a real growth question is: “What are you doing that might result in failure?”   That takes it into the real world.  There are lots of things I’d do if I knew I could not fail.   In fact, the guarantee of success makes it pretty easy.

Doing something with an unknown outcome is a challenge. The best part is in a few days I’ll be on the other side of it.  Fear, failure and anxiety will all be replaced with the inevitable growth that comes from doing something new, stretching myself and learning from the after action review.