One word: paralysis. I can point to many instances where the fear of making a mistake affected the decisions I made in my life. Some of them are fairly innocuous - for example, my reluctance to write or draw in nice, new notebooks for fear of messing them up with frivolous marks. I used to tear out pages from diaries if I thought that the entries were stupid. I wish I still had a record of those thoughts.
Sometimes I shy away from taking on certain responsibilities or tasks because I'm afraid of the repercussions of failure. Part of this stems from the fact that I had to take on a good deal of responsibility as a young kid. I think this is pretty common among first-generation immigrant families. When the best English speaker in the family is a kid, what else can a family do except ask the kid to represent the family when English is required?
I am not really a risk-taker. That might surprise some people, because when the situation has required it, I have stepped up to the plate. I guess that goes with being ultra-responsible. Sometimes I wish that I could be wild and crazy and throw caution to the wind. Somehow, I just don't think it's in my nature.
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