Fear of Failure

Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain, the designer and creator of 31three, has a very interesting blog entry titled Top Three Creativity Killers that discusses 3 reasons that often drain away our creative spirit. The third reason was a real eye opener for me. "Fear of Failure". How very true.

What happens when you involve yourself in a project that is obviously outside your domain of knowledge. As developers, we wish to rise up to the challenge. If we are successful, there is another feather we can proudly add to our already stuffed hats. But what if we fail? Oh, that's not an acceptable outcome.

But sooner or later, fail we will. It is important to be able accept one's limitations and not unnecessarily invite additional pressure upon oneself. So often, I have tried to achieve goals that I have set for the client, which given time and budget constraints, were all the more ridiculous. In the end, we are stuck with a system that doesn't work or falls far too short of our own expectations.

Jesse is absolutely right. Always keep our client's needs above our own. It will help us stay more focused and keep a check on our need to over-achieve...

{ Filed in:  Blabber }

Shashwat Parhi

25 Mar, 09:05 PM