Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bol... — Helen Keller

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.

Author: Helen Keller

Insight: There's a counterintuitive truth here that most of us learn the hard way: playing it safe doesn't actually protect you as much as it feels like it should. The person who never takes risks, never applies for the better job, never speaks up, never tries the new thing—they're not avoiding failure. They're just experiencing a slower, quieter version of it. They're caught by mediocrity, by regret, by the life that happened to them while they were busy avoiding problems. Helen Keller knew something about this that most of us only glimpse. Fear has a way of disguising itself as wisdom. We tell ourselves we're being careful, prudent, realistic. But the fearful person and the bold person often end up in the same difficult place—the difference is one got something real out of the attempt. The bold person at least has the knowledge that comes from trying, the self-respect of having acted, the possibility of an unexpected win. This doesn't mean recklessness is good strategy. It means that the hidden cost of chronic avoidance—the slow erosion of confidence, the accumulated small regrets—might be just as damaging as the risks you're working so hard to sidestep. Sometimes the safest thing you can do is move toward what scares you a little.

Source: The Open Door, p. 67, 1957