There’s one simple two-word question that has the power to change the world and make life better for everyone.
But what’s interesting is that same question also has the power to prevent us ever getting what we want.
The simple little question is: “What if?”
Years ago, some people asked “what if we can give all the computers in the world the ability to talk to each other?”
And now we have the Internet.
Then someone said “what if we write a program where someone can tell the internet to search for something …and the program will scour the entire internet and give them a list of all the places they can find answers?”
And now we have search engines.
Of course we all know the story of the two brothers who asked “What if we can figure out how to build some type of machine that will let us fly through the air like birds?”
And now we have airplanes.
You get the picture.
But, on the other hand, “what if” can also paralyze us and prevent us from ever getting started.
Here’s a real world example.
Lately, I’ve been lucky enough to work with hundreds of entrepreneurs every day in my private online community.
They make posts with questions and I go in and answer them.
And I’ve noticed something.
The members who seem to make the least amount of progress are the ones that ask the MOST questions.
But they aren’t asking just any type of question.
They’re asking lots of “what if” questions.
Like “what if I try this and it doesn’t work?”
Or “what if I get my ad rejected?”
Or “what if I get negative comments?”
Or “what if people don’t buy?”
I could go on and on but you get the point.
They’re basically asking “what if I fail?” (but they’re asking that question a zillion different ways.).
And you know what?
They’re SUPPOSED TO.
It’s not helpful …but it IS natural.
It’s almost like a reflex.
Here’s what I mean:
Our brain asks these hypothetical questions to protect us from future pain …like failure.
It’s pretty simple really. For most of us, failure = pain.
Our brains want to protect us from that pain so they create all these “what if” questions to keep us from ever getting started.
After all …if we don’t start …we don’t fail …and therefore we don’t feel pain.
But our brains are smart.
They know we’ll eventually catch on.
So they make us feel like we’re actually being productive by asking these “what if” questions.
They say, “We’re not putting this off …we’re just getting our ducks in a row! In fact, we’re doing the right thing! Let’s ask even more questions just to be sure …”
So the cycle continues and nothing gets done.
Our brain wins.
It tells us we’re being smart by asking these questions …and it hides the fact that we’ve already failed because we never even started.
I call this “keeping us in the what-if loop”.
If we get stuck in that loop, we’ll stay there and make zero progress.
But we don’t have to get stuck there. Especially since we know what’s really happening.
My friend Carl White once told me, “Dude. You don’t have to believe everything your brain tells you.”
It was some of the best advice I ever received.
So. How do we fix this? How do we wake up from the “what if trance”?
Simple:
First, accept the fact that not trying is failure in itself.
Second, ask the magic question which is, “Is it worth the risk?”
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you know that content marketing works …and you want to start creating content and growing your brand.
(Good call by the way. It really does work amazingly well.)
But let’s say you’re worried about the possibility that the content you make won’t be well received.
That’s perfectly natural and perfectly normal.
And that one little seed of worry can easily turn into a giant forest of “what ifs” if you’re not careful.
So here’s how to fix it in about 30 seconds:
First, imagine the worst-case scenario:
You create the content, and it’s not the right content, and nobody likes it. Literally nobody.
They even leave rude comments.
All of that effort was for nothing.
Total failure.
Next, let’s look at the other possibility:
You make the content and put it out there.
Your market sees the content and likes it.
You make even more content and your brand grows.
And that leads to more and more customers.
Now …look at these two extremes.
One one side, total failure.
On the other side, success.
Then I want you to ask yourself this one question:
Is it worth the risk?
Is the risk of the worst case scenario of your “what if” question worth the reward of your best case scenario?
If the answer is yes, then go ahead and create the content! (Or do whatever it is you’re “what-iffing” over.)
Chances are, the thing you’re worried about won’t even happen!
And even if it does, you’ve taken a risk and have the potential to learn and grow from the experience.
But chances are you’ll actually succeed at what you’re trying to do …especially in the long term.
Wanna know why?
Because you kept going.
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