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We live in a world where everything is starting to look the same. Our movies repeat old stories. Our music sounds alike. Our buildings follow the same simple design. Even our social media posts, book covers, and company logos have merged into one kind of style.

At the same time, many of us feel stuck. We want to create new things. We want to do innovative work. And yet, we hold ourselves back. Many people might blame it on being “afraid to fail,” but that idea might be misleading.

Most people aren’t actually scared of failing. They’re scared of how failure will make them feel. They’re scared of feeling shame, anxiety, judgment, or disappointment. And because those feelings are uncomfortable, they avoid risks altogether.

But the world desperately needs risk-takers—people who are willing to build or create new things. Without people who break from the norm, our culture stops moving forward.

Psychologists see this pattern all the time, especially among high achievers.

Many successful people quietly struggle with taking more risks. They have long lists of accomplishments, yet their inner world is filled with self-doubt. They tell themselves: “I know I’m capable. But still, I feel like a failure. And I’m terrified of inputs that might confirm it.”

The problem isn’t rooted in their talent or intelligence. The real problem is that they are scared of the feelings they might have to deal with if they do fail.

Did you know that confidence is not the absence of fear? Confidence is the belief that you can feel afraid and things will still be okay.

For instance, Olympic athletes feel nervous before competing. Musicians get anxious before performing. Great inventors doubt their next idea. But they take action anyway, because they have practiced tolerating fear—and learned not to avoid it.

Some high achievers grow confident over time. Others only grow more anxious. What does each group do differently?

It comes down to motivation.

Some people take on challenges because they enjoy growing, learning, or building something new. That feeling outweighs the idea that they might fail, and the positive momentum builds confidence.

Others take on challenges to outrun shame or silence their anxiety. That negative motivation makes them dependent on success for emotional relief. They never learn to handle fear itself, and because of that, their confidence decreases over time—even as their achievements increase.

When you constantly avoid uncomfortable emotions, your brain learns that those emotions are dangerous. So you become even more afraid. In the end, you are not scared of failing, you are afraid of feeling.

When the fear of feeling grows, the appetite for risk-taking dies.

In general, our world has become safer, richer, and more comfortable. This is a good thing. But it also means we have more to lose.

We choose predictable paths. We avoid bold choices. We build things that “work” instead of things that surprise us.

As a result, our culture repeats itself instead of reinventing itself. We are living in a time when weirdness—true originality—is rare. It’s not because we lack creative people, but because fewer people feel safe enough to take emotional risks.

Spoiler: Most risks are actually just jackets. Here is the mental shift you need to stop feeling paralyzed.

You don’t overcome fear by thinking about it. You overcome it by experiencing it in small, consistent ways.

If we want a more creative world, we need more people willing to take chances. If we want new ideas to emerge in art, science, and culture, we need to accept that discomfort is part of the process.

Taking risks doesn’t mean acting recklessly. It means acting bravely. It means being willing to feel nervous and keep going. And it means creating something new in a world where sameness has become the default.

Want to take the first step? It’s simple: Let yourself feel, and move forward anyway.

We love you,
Mona & The Sol TV Team ❤️

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