The Cost of Playing It Safe Is A Life Half-Lived
There’s a simple rule in life: You either go for it, or you don’t. And the difference between those who do and those who don’t isn’t talent, luck, or even timing — it’s guts. It’s the audacity to push past doubt, fear, and the gravitational pull of complacency. Going for it is about risk, but more importantly, it’s about refusing to live a life shaped by “what ifs.”
Let me hit you with a stat: 90% of startups fail. That’s a big number. A daunting one. But here’s the thing — 10% don’t. Those that make it don’t always have the best product, or the biggest budget, or the most seasoned team. They’re the ones who kept going, who were willing to fail spectacularly, and still wake up the next day ready to roll the dice again. They went for it.
Fear is the Real Enemy
It’s easy to romanticize fear. “Feel the fear and do it anyway,” the gurus say. “Fear is a sign you’re pushing your limits.” But let’s be real — fear sucks. Fear tells you to play it safe, to stay in your lane, to avoid embarrassment. Fear is the voice that whispers, “What if you fail? What if you’re not good enough?”
Here’s a newsflash: Fear isn’t going anywhere. You can’t banish it, you can’t outsmart it, and you can’t avoid it. What you can do is learn to coexist with it. Recognize it for what it is — a biological response designed to keep you safe, not successful. Fear is the alarm that goes off when you’re about to do something that matters. It’s the cost of admission to the arena of life. The question is, will you pay the toll and move forward, or will you shrink back into the comfort zone, where nothing ever grows?
People who go for it have learned to treat fear like background noise. They hear it, but they don’t let it drive the car.
The Illusion of Security
We’re wired to seek security. But here’s the punchline: Security is an illusion. Job security? Gone. Corporate loyalty? A relic of the past. The only real security you have is your ability to take risks, to pivot, to bet on yourself when no one else will. The worst kind of failure is the one where you never even tried, where you sat on the sidelines waiting for a guarantee that was never coming.
Most people don’t go for it because they’re waiting for the “right time.” Guess what? The right time doesn’t exist. There’s only now. And if you’re waiting for the stars to align, you’re going to miss your moment. The biggest opportunities often come wrapped in uncertainty, in discomfort, in a package that says, “This might blow up in your face.”
But here’s the deal: The moments that scare you the most are the ones that have the most potential to change your life. If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. If you’re safe, you’re stuck. Growth and security don’t live in the same zip code.
Fail Forward
Ask any successful person, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Failure is inevitable. It’s not a detour on the path to success — it is the path. The people who win big are the ones who are willing to lose big. Every time you fail, you learn something. You get better. You build resilience, grit, and a thick skin. That’s the stuff that separates the amateurs from the pros.
Look at Steve Jobs. The guy was fired from his own company — a colossal failure. But he didn’t throw in the towel. He went on to create Pixar, and eventually returned to Apple to lead the company into the most innovative period of its history. Jobs went for it, and when he failed, he went for it again. His secret? He saw failure as feedback, not a final verdict.
Going for it means embracing the fact that you’re going to screw up. A lot. And that’s okay. The people who make it aren’t the ones who avoid failure, but the ones who can take the punch, get back up, and throw another one. Every failure is a step closer to success.
Regret: The Real Poison
At the end of the day, what we regret isn’t the things we did — it’s the things we didn’t do. The opportunities we let pass by. The risks we were too scared to take. That’s the stuff that haunts you. And here’s the truth that no one likes to talk about: Time is finite. We’re all on the clock, and every minute you spend not going for it is a minute you’ll never get back.
The worst thing you can do is live a life filled with unplayed hands. You don’t want to be the person who looks back and realizes you spent your life sitting in the bleachers, watching other people play the game. You want to be on the field, taking hits, making plays, and pushing yourself to see how far you can go.
Going for It is a Muscle
Like anything else, the ability to go for it is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Start small. Take a risk. Make the ask. Submit the application. Hit “publish” on that blog post. Whatever it is, do the thing that scares you. Then do it again. Over time, you’ll start to realize that the fear of failing is worse than actually failing.
Here’s a little secret: Most people are too busy worrying about their own lives to care if you fail. And those who do care? They’re not the ones who are going to help you succeed anyway. So stop worrying about what other people think. They’re not the ones paying your bills or building your dreams.
Bet on Yourself
At the end of the day, going for it boils down to one thing: Betting on yourself. No one else is going to do it for you. Not your boss, not your spouse, not your parents. It’s on you to decide that you’re worth the risk. That your dreams are worth the uncertainty, the fear, and the possibility of failure.
Here’s the truth: The biggest risk you can take is not taking one. The cost of playing it safe is a life half-lived. So go for it. Because when you do, even if you fall flat on your face, you’ll know that you’re in the game. And that, my friends, is where the magic happens.
Brian Fink is the author of Talk Tech To Me. He takes on the stress and strain of complex technology concepts and simplifies them for the modern recruiter. Fink’s impassioned wit and humor tackle the highs and lows of technical recruiting with a unique perspective — a perspective intended to help you find, engage, and partner with professionals.
