Am I doing the right thing?

Often in a yoga class, the teacher would show us a pose, stop doing the pose and then ask us to replicate the action.

I would then work from my short term memory and attempt to replicate the pose I just saw. While I stand there in the awkward position I would often think to myself:

“Am I doing the right thing?”

I would stand there balancing myself tentatively absolutely craving the teacher’s reassurance because clearly the idea that I could be doing the pose wrong and looking stupid was terrifying to me.

The same question (‘Am I doing the right thing?’) also applies to ventures without a single correct answer. For example creative endeavours and life choices.

This is where the genius of Seth Godin’s phrase comes into play. When contemplating the outcome of your next project repeat to yourself:

“This might work, this might not work”

There is something magical about these seven words and I think that the acknowledgement of the risk adds an element of comfort to the potential failure of the venture. It removes the guarantee of success and instead embraces the reality that failure is a possibility.

P.S. Seth Godin’s book ‘Your Turn’ is brilliant and well worth a read 🙂