What Would You Do...

...if you could do anything and not fail?

This was a question on a recent health form I was asked to complete. Such a deep question for a standard health form, right? I have this issue with forms in that as soon as I see an empty form, I need to complete it immediately. Some deep-rooted OCD issue or something. So when I came to this question, it frustrated me that I had to stop and think.

What would you do if you could do anything and not fail?

A flurry of answers swirled in my mind. I could be a writer. No. You don't have the time. You're not good enough. You'd lose interest. I could start that business I've always thought about. No. You don't have the money. You don't have the experience. You'd lose interest.

But wait... you would not fail.

What would you NOT do if there was no risk of failing? You could literally do or try anything, and have a positive result. I would sit down and finally write that book. Because I wouldn't run out of money ahead of time. We would not have a health-related issue that demanded health insurance. I would not be denied by that major publisher and lose all self-confidence. I would not lose interest because it would be such a riveting topic, and there wouldn't be those "you should really be doing something more practical, like laundry" thoughts going through my mind. And I really could open my business for toddlers and parents because I'd have a booming business and loads of start-up money. I could bring my son to work with me and finally balance every aspect of my life that is important to me. Successful thoughts are exciting... but are they realistic?

Someone "professional" told me recently that I spend too much time conjuring up worst-case scenarios, and then dwelling upon them. But isn't that easy? Isn't it easy to think of all the things that could go wrong, and instead living in a state of comfortable "stability?" In real life, failure IS an option. A scary one. Especially for type-A perfectionists with a flair for OCD.

But the question remains, in black and white, what would you do if you could do anything and not fail?