April 29, 2021

If you’re a failure-fearing go-getter like me, then it may be easier to try new things if you explicitly set a goal to fail.

Like the writer who tried to get 100 rejections from magazines, and ended up with many articles published, because he wasn’t afraid to pitch his ideas.

Like the pottery students who aimed to create as many vases as possible, and ended up making better ones than the students who aimed for beauty.

Like me, inspired by those two stories, setting a goal to promote my live event so much that I lose 100 followers – and accidentally gaining 393 in the process.

I believe that failure is a worthwhile tradeoff, not only for the chance of success, but also for the benefit of overcoming fear. Framed like that, however, it’s harder for me to accept. For some reason, I find it easier to act fearlessly if I treat failure itself as a worthy goal.

P.S. I write from my personal experience as an autistic. What I share is not a substitute for advice from an autistic medical professional. Also, some of my opinions have changed since I first wrote them.