These decisions are about damage control. Or better still getting very clear about what you initially make it mean about you if you fuck up and then find ways to change that meaning!

Risk can be deliberating and if you want to act, its about how you change the meaning of potential failure around to mean something useful.

I use several ideas here.

First is stepping up and jumping. A mantra I use when im scared to act is ‘Fear is growth’.
Its the same feeling that also says ‘fucking leg it, stay safe, don’t do it!’ I just choose which voice I listen to.

Then if it goes well you can take the time to recognise you are more capable than you initially gave yourself credit for and grow from this.

If it goes tits up then this is your new line in the sand.

You can decide from here whether you want to move forwards and learn from the exercise understanding what you still need to do in order to succeed in this new role.

Alternatively after the feedback, you can decide whether you want to change direction into a new field entirely or that you are actually happy where you where initially.

Chances are if you wanted to jump in the first place you want more. You want to stretch yourself. So going back is just you playing it safe. So recognise this as well. Old roles have a seductive way of making us see them through rose coloured glasses. But if we left our old roles, chances are we have outgrown it.

With new experiences, learning and growing can be harsh teachers but the skill is to reinterpret the negative feedback – either from others or the worst critic – ourselves – into a new type of dialogue that uses the latest feedback to keep you going in the right direction for you.

Easy in theory but it is possible in reality. its just not in a way that sells books.

Its ugly, scary and often lonely and often means being made aware of the person you don’t want to meet – who you really are, warts and all.

But its about changing the meaning and that’s all in language and how we talk to ourselves. Its about seeing the bigger picture and how that will feel in the future.

And that all takes work and commitment to yourself to ‘hold the line’ and stick in there.