22 April

Fear of Failure

My friend has always maintained that she can’t sing so I was surprised when she told me that she had joined a choir.

“How come they accepted you?” I asked.

“Ah, well, it’s a special choir” she answered “it’s called the Can’t Sing Choir. It’s for people who think they can’t sing.”

The leader of the choir is adamant that everyone can sing. Some will have more aptitude than others but nobody should exclude themselves by refusing to attempt it for fear of failure. You may not be the best singer in the choir but that should never be seen as a failing: quite the opposite, in fact. If you think you can’t sing but you make a point of overcoming your inhibitions and trying your best you will experience something that you would otherwise have missed – the sheer joy and pleasure of singing. You will also be able to claim a personal triumph: you will be able to say “I did it! I sang in a choir! I made a dream come true!”

Many of us have lost our sense of play, of doing things for the fun of it. We are constrained by fears; the fear of being derided by our peers; the fear of not being successful in everything we attempt. Such fears inhibit our actions and exclude us from adventures. My friend was fearless: she may not be a great singer but she is a great person. She was prepared to dive in and have a go, to ‘risk’ failure. Her action set her free from constraints, free from preconceptions and free to indulge in something she had previously only dreamed about. It doesn’t matter that you’re not the best singer in the choir: what matters is that you are prepared to try, to become a player – and to make it fun.

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