i suppose it depends on what it is we’re talking about. i can’t fall in line with the “better to try and know than to not try at all” thinking. i believe a lot of things are just plain bad ideas. and other things are just not worth the time and effort you’d have to put forth. and in some other cases, we might have avoided unnecessary and pointless pain or hardships by thinking through some things first.
that being said, i’m also not one to fear failure, or to believe “failure is not an option.” sure it is. you may experience and learn more by failing than otherwise — and it may benefit you greatly.
but i would say it’s unwise to jump in on either side of this argument….
James, good point! I like the way you express this. I suspect that some of us can relate to the experience of wanting to try something good, useful, etc. and somehow the mere possibility of failing prevented even making the effort.
I’m with James: depends on what’s being tried. But on the whole, I think never trying is much worse. I would rather make an attempt to do something and completely embarrass myself attempting to do it than just sit quietly by and do nothing. I think it’s worse to not try, because if I don’t try, I don’t know what it is to succeed, regardless of what area it’s in.
Alison. Probably each of has leanings in one direction or the other. I do know people who are very, very hesitant to try most anything. In fact, one person told me, “Unless I absolutely know that I am going to succeed, regardless of what it is, I won’t even attempt to do it.”
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i suppose it depends on what it is we’re talking about. i can’t fall in line with the “better to try and know than to not try at all” thinking. i believe a lot of things are just plain bad ideas. and other things are just not worth the time and effort you’d have to put forth. and in some other cases, we might have avoided unnecessary and pointless pain or hardships by thinking through some things first.
that being said, i’m also not one to fear failure, or to believe “failure is not an option.” sure it is. you may experience and learn more by failing than otherwise — and it may benefit you greatly.
but i would say it’s unwise to jump in on either side of this argument….
James, good point! I like the way you express this. I suspect that some of us can relate to the experience of wanting to try something good, useful, etc. and somehow the mere possibility of failing prevented even making the effort.
I’m with James: depends on what’s being tried. But on the whole, I think never trying is much worse. I would rather make an attempt to do something and completely embarrass myself attempting to do it than just sit quietly by and do nothing. I think it’s worse to not try, because if I don’t try, I don’t know what it is to succeed, regardless of what area it’s in.
Alison. Probably each of has leanings in one direction or the other. I do know people who are very, very hesitant to try most anything. In fact, one person told me, “Unless I absolutely know that I am going to succeed, regardless of what it is, I won’t even attempt to do it.”
“