What Have You Got To Lose?

Have you ever not tried doing something because you feared you’d fail and wanted to save yourself “shame” and upset and rejection?

I have done that.

In fact, the most notable one was applying for my job at the Kennedy Space Center for the Space Shuttle Program.

Yes, it’s true. I almost didn’t apply because I thought I wasn’t qualified so I would just save myself the trouble of rejection.

The Story

My first husband and I were visiting his parents here in Florida for Christmas (we were living in Indiana at the time). I was looking through the newspaper on Sunday and saw an ad from one of the NASA contractors who was looking for computer programmers / software engineers for the Space Shuttle Program.

I said to my in-laws and husband that that would be cool but I knew I wasn’t qualified, so I wasn’t going to apply.

They all looked at me like I was crazy and one of them (I don’t recall which) said, “What have you got to lose?”

That struck a nerve in me. What did I have to lose? Even if I didn’t get hired, I still had my job in Indiana.

The only thing I had to lose was my pride. I didn’t want to be rejected. I didn’t want to fail at being hired.

I probably should have whacked myself in the forehead with the palm of my hand (the “WOW, I could have had a V8” move).

I agreed with them. What DID I have to lose?

Thus I applied for the job. The company called me for an interview and ultimately FLEW me to Florida for an interview and I started work on the Space Shuttle Program in March!

My Lesson

Had I stuck with my fear of failure and fear of rejection, I would never have been part of the Space Shuttle history!

So, next time you are considering not doing something, ask yourself, “What have you got to lose?” It might be time to go for it!

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