Thomas Edison was once told by a teacher that he was “too stupid to learn”. Oprah was fired from her first TV job. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Imagine if these individuals would have given up and quit. How many people destined for greatness actually have given up and quit in the face of failure?
There is power in this question. It allows you to go directly to rock bottom and work your way back up to a more reasonable scenario.
If you have a strong financial foundation you can take this approach. If you are so dependent on your job that losing your it would mean losing your home, bankruptcy, or worse, then you may end up taking the safe route.
Minimizing lifestyle inflation was a critical aspect of setting a strong financial foundation. Giving in to lifestyle inflation would have made the worst case scenario look much different.
One strategy to power through is to look fear in the eyes and ask yourself “what’s the worst that can happen?” The next time you are contemplating a job opportunity, preparing for a speech, or doing anything that makes you anxious or uncomfortable, ask yourself this simple question.