As kids, we were unafraid to dream big. Minus the social awkwardness of the teenage years, we generally weren’t swayed by other people’s expectations of us or their perceptions of our dreams. For some odd reason, the older we get, the more susceptible we are to being influenced by society’s expectations of us. Somewhere along the way, we seem to subdue our dreams, become more reserved in our ambition, and guarded against judgment from others.

Failures can knock us down, make us lose confidence in ourselves and can threaten to prevent us from trying again. When I was in pilot training, I failed one of my earliest checkrides (an important “flying test”). I encountered a plethora of maintenance problems when I went to start the jet, which was frustrating. But, once in the air, I flew pretty darn well. However, once on the ground, the instructor informed me I had failed the checkride.