Garrity 1

Sydney Garrity
Professor Werner
English 102
5 March 2016
Fear of Failure versus the Overall Picture
The generation currently overtaking the revolution of innovations that is going to soon
occur is a generation of potential doers, or so most think. As a whole, the visions that are created
for people are endless but the ones that are actually acted on are minuscule. Neal Stephenson had
high hopes for this society but believes that the fear of failure is now holding not only current
generations back from going after the bigger picture, but is more so concerned for generations to
come. Many stop short before creating something great. Short-term goals seem to be the more
plausible to aim for but if the extra effort was put in, America would not just be looked at as a
country of dreamers, but ones that work for their dreams.
Possibility is the strength that people use to get themselves out of bed in the morning but
the fear of failing is what holds most back from going after the bigger picture. That feeling that
success isnt within the grasp is the first thing one has to overcome in order to achieve anything.
It is not easy; it is a difficult trait to possess, and most do not even strive to overcome their own
fear. It is a mental process over anything; a persons mind has to be right in order to meet a goal.
Therefore why is it that the society that thrives today is the one that is scared? Our world is so
technologically advanced it is difficult to believe that we hold any type of fear that will stop us
from proceeding farther. With everything that is at our access, it is inevitable that we will further
the convenience and ease of how things are today. Handheld devices taken for granted, children

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learning how to access information from the Internet rather than from books, times have changed
drastically. It is overwhelming the difference just a few generations have undergone.
Everyone has high hopes for how they want their lives to be and also how they picture
the outcome. Everyone wants the best, but few are willing to work to get it. Lack of motivation is
the biggest cause of failure. So how do people try to fix what stares them in the face? They avoid
all problems that stand between the doer and the success they have the ability of achieving.
Robert C. Birney states The avoidance motive is one of being disposed to inhibit achievement
striving so that fear of failure will not occur (162). Motivation is something most lack but need
a way to find. In Stephensons argument, he insults the majority of Americans by saying that we
cant finish what we started. He states, Innovation cant happen without accepting the risk that I
might fail (47). Even though he writes these words, there is a part of him that doesnt fully
believe it. By painting the picture that something is not attainable it makes people want to prove
that fact wrong. It gives the right type of motivation to start acting on ideas. It is imperative that
the generations younger learn from the mistakes that older generations have made. They seem to
have all these plans yet have no idea how they want to achieve their goals.
Success is not attained on the first try. By making a mistake, people learn from it and
know what to do correctly next time in order to improve performance. Without error, people
cannot attain success. It is important not to settle for the idea of complete success because a
person will never fully learn from his or her success if he or she do not constantly grow from it.
Society needs to build on the good to make it prominent and to keep going. Birney suggests that
by attaining success someone has to start small in order to work towards something great (112).
It is not necessary to start from scratch; expectations of a person arent meant to be too high that
it is unattainable. If every person left a miniscule footprint on our world, it would overall be a

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better place to be. Just a small act of kindness would make all the difference. If someone were to
donate an item of clothing or give their leftovers to the homeless, something that would not
cause a change in my own life would certainly be able to make an impact on someone elses. It
seems as if society is lacking so much as a whole that multiple people are going to have to go
above and beyond in creating something new in this world. It seems continuous that the same
people are creating similar things for a ridiculous price. New things should be happening.
If someone achieves greatness once he or she should not be satisfied with that for the rest
of his or her lives. Johannah Rodgers recognizes Stephenson as an author of over a dozen
novels, which span a range of genres, including SF, historical fiction, and cyberpunk. The
recipient of numerous science fiction awards (42). He is the prime example of how a person
should try to grasp success. They should strive to attain it again. The possibility of failure is the
problem that holds many people back but yet people risk things as great as their lives for such a
small outcome. People who defend the country and serve exemplify this point. Ladies and
gentlemen serve our country for honor, and they would not give a second thought to risking their
lives if it meant they could be remembered as a hero. Hero or not, that person is still in the
ground. The chance of failing their families to come home to them is so great yet they do it to be
a good person or a good citizen. Life should be valued more than honor. However, when
greatness is a plausible possibility, people coward to this too because of failure. Failure is a
persons biggest enemy, due to ones ego. A person is his or her own worst enemy, especially
when doing something outside his or her comfort zone.
There is so much that is possible but has not yet been attempted. Even simple things can
put others in awe just because they have tried something that another person hasnt. Losing
weight is attainable for almost anyone yet glorified because some people put in more work than

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others. That is how our society needs to be as well. Instead of being in awe of someones work,
everyone should try to come together and be a part of that to add-on to something great.
Stephenson does have his doubts, by worrying that our inability to match the achievements of
the 1960s space program might be symptomatic of a general failure of our society to get big
things done (43). He specifically expects more from that generation. It is obvious he is trying to
motivate them in the right direction. It is not a matter if people have the capability of doing so
because of the amazing things that are already created, but the real question is can this continue?
So what is this bigger picture that most cannot seem to commit to? Its just that.
Commitment and failure go hand and hand so why would someone want to waste time and
energy into something that may inevitably not work out? Well, that is where chance comes in.
Anything is promising with the right mindset. Stephenson mentions how things that were being
innovated generations back didnt look possible, yet it got done (47). This current generation that
is supposedly the generation of innovators needs to take a chance to get anything amazing
accomplished. The possibilities of any instance are endless but the outcomes that may or may not
happen should not hold a person back from trying to achieve greatness.
When trying to attain a goal, put any personal ego at rest in the back of the mind and
realize that he or she is capable of anything they set their mind to. It is not impossible, and it can
be done. However, failing is different than failing to try. Birney notices that many are so scared
to fail that they do not even attempt to achieve their goal (145). Failing leads to learning and
learning leads to doing it repeatedly until one gets it right. To put it simply, the generation that
makes up the mass amount that considers themselves doers is lazy. The amount that was
anticipated from the generation that made it seem that they would bring the most unheard of
things to other generations has been an extreme let down. Excessive talk of things innovators see

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as possibilities that didnt seem plausible just a few years ago. Both authors have the same goal
in mind, motivate to make these people achieve because there is so much that is anticipated to
come. Where are the flying cars? Why have the smart phones at hand break constantly? Why are
servers so expensive even though everyone uses them? It seems as if this is a generation of
failures, not people that are afraid to disappoint themselves as well as the large shoes they have
to fill. The expectations for future generations is in fact set high but that is only because it is
within grasp. In everything, they do as a whole something is holding them back. They need to
stop letting that fear hold them back and let the fear drive the ideas they have to do something
that they never thought they were capable of in the first place.

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Works Cited
Birney, Robert Charles, Harvey Budrick, and Richard Collier Teevan. Fear of Failure. New
York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold, 1969. Print.
Rodgers, Johannah. Technology: A Reader for Writers. New York City, NY: Oxford University
Press, Inc., 2015, 42. Print.
Stephenson, Neal. Innovation Starvation Technology: A Reader for Writers. Ed. Johannah
Rodgers. New York City, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2015, 49. Print.