My most interesting friends took risks that didn't work out. Tried to start-up, tried to join a political party, switched careers/sectors & more.

The ones that came out of it stronger & are antifragile (as Nassim Taleb calls it) share a similar learning from their experiences..

When they realised they had made a mistake or 'gotten too close to the fire', they stayed back a tiny bit longer before walking out.

They did this to study their environment and themselves objectively. They did this while they were still in it - not once they were out.

*This learning doesn't apply to toxic environments (in which case pls get out), but to experiences where you overestimated your abilities, did not do your research, made a mistake etc.

In such situations - taking a second to soak it in before you walk out ..

.. allows you to familiarise yourself with that feeling at the pit of your stomach. It is not the worst feeling actually - you took a leap of faith, it didn't work out.

The feeling is quite common, actually. Getting used to that feeling allows you to take more risks.

The progress of the world depends on risk-takers and optimists: people that take big challenges when there are high chances of failure.

If you're one of them: thank you. Apparently staying back a little longer after the dice doesn't roll 6, helps :)