Determined by who you are.
Fear is the heart of human failure. And it cannot always be defeated.
The Brazen Careerist was once a professional volleyball player. She never made it to the top, however, because of insurmountable fear. The thought of trying to be number one and failing was so painful that her attention automatically drifted toward extraneous things. And this lack of focus, especially on the court, made her lose.
Other players didn't have this problem because they expected to win.
BC tried to improve her performance by punishing herself for errors and meditating and thinking things through. But nothing worked. To invest all of your energy in a goal, you have to believe you will succeed. And she didn't. "I had total faith until I reached #17. Then I folded." she says.
The not so Brazen Volleyballist had reached the limit of her success.
I have a similar problem. When I have a limited number of potential calls to make on a particular search, failure to succeed on any one of them will bring me very close to disaster, a dead end.
I'm often terrified of making those calls because if they go south I'll have to go back to whomever I am working with and let them down. And I don't want to do that so I find myself becoming an ostrich, avoiding the thought of what I have to do by preoccupying myself with other things.
I'm sure that bolder recruiters don't experience this problem but I remember David Perry telling me about one guy he knew who had the neatest desk and the shortest call sheet.
I'd be very curious to know the actual thoughts that scared Penelope and led to her lack of focus. Was it simply, "This is hopeless." or "I'm going to look like a fool when everyone is paying attention" or "The people who believe in me are going to feel let down and angry." ?
