My buddy called me out for being scared of failure at 35 years old

I told my friend Dave last week I was stuck on starting a side business because I might mess up. He looked me dead in the eye and said 'you're not scared of failing, you're scared of looking dumb.' That hit different because he was right. I've been sitting on a plan for a pressure washing gig for 6 months now and haven't bought the damn machine yet. Anyone else have a friend call them out on something you already knew about yourself?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice_kim1mo ago

Read a study once that said people regret not trying way more than they regret failing. Dave sounds like a good friend for calling it out straight up like that.

terryf621mo ago

That study got the numbers right but the context wrong. I heard the same one from a professor at UCLA and he said the regret gap was actually about 60/40 for not trying vs failing, not an overwhelming majority. Still, Dave being honest beats letting Alice wonder what if for the next ten years.

tarar278d ago

Gotta push back on this - Dave telling you that doesn't make it automatically true. @terryf62 is right that studies get twisted, and being called out can feel deep but that doesn't mean the fear of failing isn't also real and valid at 35. Sometimes a buddy's tough love just adds pressure to jump into something you're not truly ready for.