Misery Loves Company`

Fear of failure can be crippling. I remind all of my students that there is always growth and benefit from effort. We learn from our attempts and refine our approach accordingly. Every attempt is one more step closer to our ultimate goal. The only true failure is when you fail to even try.

Insecurities can be alleviated or reinforced depending upon what one is trying to accomplish. Unfortunately one of the most common reactions to insecurity is to seek validation. There is logic behind whom we choose to share our insecurities with. Our choice depends upon whether we want help to overcome our insecurities or whether we want another passenger on our pity bandwagon. It is more often the latter than the former as misery loves company.

The solution to insecurities ultimately lies within. There are a lot of strategies that can be employed to empower ourselves to take responsibility and, ultimately, control over our situation.

• Ask yourself how your words and actions serve you? This one act of mindfulness can change a situation rather than drag someone else down into it.

• The solution lies within so talk about your insecurities. Share with someone who can help as opposed to searching out like-minded people to validate your feelings.

• When listening to others, don't just listen to what they are saying, listen to why they are saying it. It is easy to get get your back arched when you are not hearing what you want to hear. If you consider why someone is saying what they are saying it is always easier to recognize the benevolent heart behind their words.

• Become a resource for others. Help them through their insecurities and you will develop solid strategies for dealing with your own.

“If men as individuals surrender to the call of their elementary instincts, avoiding pain and seeking satisfaction only for their own selves, the result for them all taken together must be a state of insecurity, of fear, and of promiscuous misery.” - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)