When I received a notification that my bar exam results were posted, my heart rate doubled

6 min readNov 28, 2020

One of the greatest obstacles preventing people from taking action is the fear of failure. Whether a person is pursuing a new hobby or a career change, that innate fear is an ever-present shackle that will stop a person from taking those first steps. Yet, avoidance is futile. We all fall down at some point, however, it is how we treat the experience that determines whether the failure is a setback or a lesson.

Don’t stand still, take affirmative steps
After acceptance, there must be action. You can accept that your head is underwater, but if you don’t start paddling, you will drown. Your present circumstances are not necessarily a permanent fixture that will define your life in the long-term.
Action can take many forms, it does not have to be a direct assault on the problem. If you are experiencing difficulty at work, try consulting with a colleague. When faced with a sudden health problem, speak to your doctor, and get a second opinion, especially if your mental health is suffering. Just by taking the steps to gather resources, you are already in a better position than when you started.
Nobody can predict with certainty how a situation will resolve itself. By taking affirmative steps and addressing the problem head-on, you are better equipped to control the outcome. Failure is only a defeat if you stop in your tracks.
Evolve or die
“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” — Rita Mae Brown
Sometimes our failures and hardships are not happenstance, they are the result of patterns of behavior that yield undesired outcomes. If you get a bad grade on one test, it could be a fluke. If you get bad grades for an entire semester, there is a deeper cause.
Unfortunately, individuals are too close to the problem to see things clearly, which makes it difficult to be proactive. It helps to form a positive network of friends, family, and colleagues to gain an objective insight. Even reaching out to a mental health professional can help disrupt undesirable behavioral and decision-making processes. This requires trust and a willingness to accept opinions and viewpoints that might contradict your own perceptions. Only by recognizing that there could be faults in your decision-making can you take corrective measures.
By resisting introspection and stubbornly maintaining the status quo, it is difficult to grow as a person. We are all changing throughout our lives and facing different challenges. In order to prevail and thrive, we have to adapt to those changes.
Do not let fear control your life
There is a difference between making an informed decision and making a scared decision. Any significant decision in life carries some level of risk. Getting married risks divorce. Going to college risks debt. Riding a bike risks injury. Managing risk means putting on a helmet before you ride your bike. Fearing risk means never getting on the bike in the first place.
Following my first difficult year of law school, after a period of extensive cursing, I had to make a decision as to my future as an attorney. If I continued forward, I would be faced with triple the amount of debt I had already incurred. Failing at that level could be financially ruinous. On the other hand, if I quit law school after the first year, I could go back and use my business degree, maybe go for an MBA.
I chose to pursue what I loved. I came to the decision after identifying the motivating factor that pushed me towards quitting, fear. I was afraid of failing again and I was afraid of the potential consequences of another failure. I did not want to live my life wondering whether I could have made it as an attorney, so I forged ahead. I don’t regret it.

When I received a notification that my bar exam results were posted, my heart rate doubled

Written by Babai Pradhan10