My recent posts have been a bit from my head.  They’ve had valuable and important tips in them but they’ve been lacking heart and have been a bit impersonal.  So, I’m going to change it up (I am the Change Champion, after all) and share some things about change from a more personal perspective.  I’m going to confess that I am a big chicken!  I have a a huge fear of failure!    And, do you know what I’m afraid will happen if I fail?  I’m afraid I’ll look stupid, incompetent, foolish.  I’m afraid that I’ll lose credibility and that people will lose respect for me.  I’m telling you, this fear sometimes takes my breath away.  It stops me cold.  And then, thank heaven I have an awesome support squad,  someone  says to me, “What’s the worst thing that would happen if you look foolish?”  or  “When you see someone try something new and they don’t succeed, do you judge them negatively?”  And that gets me thinking about how much admire people who are courageous and who try new things.  And, I especially admire them when they aren’t successful the first time and they regroup and keep on going.  And, those thoughts motivate me to forge ahead.  So, now you want to hear something that sounds like a major contradiction?  I’m as afraid of success as I am of failure.  And I think I know why… it’s because if I succeed at something really big, it sets me up for the possibility of failure… I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep it up, sustain the success, keep making it better.  Every time I create something new, I wonder if I’ll be able to do what it takes to keep it going.   Yet, I love the thrill of living on the edge of something new and exciting.  Life is so full of complex parodoxes, conflicting forces, yin and yang.  So, I’m learning to take small steps, be in the moment, enjoy the journey.  I’ve become more realistic about my expectations.  I’ve let go of perfection.  I’ve learned to be more patient with myself.  And, of course, I count on others to keep me grounded.