You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try. — Beverly Sills

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

Author: Beverly Sills

Insight: There's a particular kind of regret that haunts people more than failure ever does—the regret of never having tried. Most of us know this intellectually, but we still choose the safety of inaction anyway. We tell ourselves the timing isn't right, or we're not ready yet, or the odds are too slim. What we're really doing is trading a possible disappointment for a guaranteed one, just delayed. The thing about failure is that it's temporary and specific. You tried something and it didn't work out—painful, sure, but at least you know what you're dealing with. Regret about never attempting something, though? That's a different creature entirely. It lingers because it's paired with endless "what ifs," and those are way harder to make peace with than actual results. This doesn't mean throwing caution to the wind or chasing reckless dreams. It means recognizing that the people who tend to look back on their lives satisfied aren't the ones with a perfect record. They're the ones who tried things that mattered to them, even when success wasn't guaranteed. Disappointment is feedback. Doomed is knowing you never even stepped up to find out.