Fear of Failure.

What is it that makes us paranoid about failing? When did being erroneous, such a human quality, became an aberration? Are we afraid of being seen as failures? Do we fear humiliation? Disappointment? And so, we stop being ourselves and change/adapt to what we think people will ‘like’ to see. Hence, society has become so twisted and degrading. We shouldn’t be doing anything to please others because if what we do aren’t what we want, feel…then it ain’t truly ours. It’s a cheap imitation just to be accepted. And that’s just pathetic, because at the end of the day, those who judge and want to change you, aren’t those who matter the most.

As a designer, we always have to be making decisions, to be as objective as possible. Because design, being a universal language, should be understandable and perceived easily. Sometimes our approaches are not what the client wants or expect. But if they hire you, it;’s because of your talent and what you can accomplish. So many times, have I encountered the dilemma between following my gut feeling and the desire to please my professors. You can’t help it, we want to be likeable, we want to impress. I was never happy going through the direction many guided me at first, I just had a better gut feeling to solve the problems given to me. Usually, at the very end, when I decide to ignore their expectations and work around the passion driving me inside, that gut feeling…my projects turn out far better than expected and a surprising result, the professors actually liked them as well.

Follow your heart, don’t be afraid of failure. If you fail, you’ll be even better because you’ll know what to do next time and thus, grow.