A very handy question to ask yourself:<p>"How is that serving me?"<p>Today was yet another day I didn't start something from my list of ideas. I didn't have to put in hard work, got to relax, and will be able to avoid possible failure for one more day.<p>Of course, that doesn't stop me from slacking off, but at least I know the true reason why and can try to accept it: I'd rather be comfortable than have a chance at larger success.
Very interesting.<p>I find myself stopping just short of the goal-line at times, leaving projects unfinished. Not sure if this is due to a fear of seeing the end result lampooned by users, or whether it is due to self-defeating programming in my brain that is beyond my ability to detect it. Whatever the cause, when I am able to objectify the situation, it appears to me that I am acting quite irrationally.<p>Anyone else experience this?
"Many people ... are anxious about what it means to succeed."<p>Sometimes kids get loaded down with expectations, even expectations to 'redeem' a family of people who see themselves as failures. Or carry on for 'winners'. Who wants to be in that position? That's a heavy load to carry. Some people only 'succeed' after a decade or two of struggling to really understand a problem - then go on to discovery after discovery.<p>Success can create an expectation of further success. Early 'success' can result from good fortune. That may create a weight that can't be carried. Child actors, for example. Many people do all the right things, but don't promote them ... and get ignored. The world can be very blind.<p>And there are people who just aren't motivated by what most people call 'success'. Success might mean solving a problem that few understand. Or it might mean overcoming all those expectations and doing what satisfies oneself. Ironically, that might be described as 'self-defeating' by more conventionally-valued people. Schubert and van Gogh had very little 'success' during their lifetimes. Yet they kept doing what they loved ... and damn the torpedoes.