failure is when you don't even attempt...

That's a good quote by Edison at the end there! I've used that to inspire myself many times in the past. But it can still be hard, I can relate with your sentiments.. 

>Would I think less of myself, if I wouldn’t win?
I know it’s sad, but my answer to that question would be ‘yes’. I’d feel deeply disappointed and would probably conclude that I’m not good enough, and that I would have failed... again.

I go through this on a regular basis with a game I play on my phone called Clash Royale, it's pretty much the only game I play these days and.. There's a lot of good players! Why should I get so disappointed and let down when I lose? I dunno, but I still do. I think it's really difficult to get over that sometimes and when I lose a bunch of times in a row sometimes I feel like quitting.. Like.. I should be spending my time working or doing something else more productive, though I almost always come crawling back cause I enjoy the mental stimulation, I enjoy being able to have something that's a distraction and a bit fun from time to time. And that's a good thing I think.. Sorta like when I played Chess growing up as a kid, it's not always about winning or losing.. But growing and learning and having fun. :) If you can find a way to appreciate the process and not focus so much on the end result I think that might help! Sometimes we gotta lose a bunch before we win and sometimes we may never win, though if we learn from it all and appreciate being a part of it.. Then I think that's even more important than "winning". 

It's great when you can win and it feels good, and it can be sucky when you lose sometimes too.. Though I think it's awesome when you can sort of detach yourself from the whole winner/loser mindset and just have fun and learn new things and appreciate the time you spent regardless of how it ends up in terms of results in regards to winning or losing. If you can find a way to really tap into that mindset, then I think in a sense.. You're always a winner and you never lose cause you're always growing and learning and having fun. Plus.. I think being less attached to the outcome often helps you actually win in the game more often as well! From my personal experience I tend to mess up when I get too "into" it, or too focused on the outcome.. When I let go of the outcome and just play to have fun I find I do a lot better! And maybe my experience won't translate to you or to everyone, but it has helped me look at these things in a better light and I hope something I typed up there does help you in some way. Cheers friend. :)

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Kind of funny, you don't want to enter writing contest because you might not win, and I did not want to enter some because I was afraid, of "what if I won?" In the end I entered a few, had fun, and then faded away, (got busy doing other things, now real busy).

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You got a 48.49% upvote from @bid4joy courtesy of @simplymike!

I know the feeling, and most of people do too! First of all, you are already brave talking about it, so be proud of that. There's nothing wrong in failing, everyone does and besides that, we should do what we want regardless of people will think. I'm not a religious person, but in my country we say "if jesus didn't please them all, why should I?". 
This week I had to ask some papers in the gym, I couldn't barely sleep thinking "what they are going to think of me for asking this, how stupid". But so what? I need that thing and this isn't anyone business.

Just commit to do something everyday your mind wouldn't expect you to do, this way you'll be reprogramming your brain to believe the message behind the action is different from what it had built. You will break your own paradigms. Do with small things, and then bigger ones, and the then the biggest that terrifies you must. The power is within yourself, go for it!

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You got a 55.25% upvote from @brupvoter courtesy of @simplymike!

What a sincere post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 
We all have destructive thoughts and self-doubt. But what would happen if you fail? What's the worst thing? 
For me it's even worse not to have participated at all..

Sure. you made the point. Like you said here, sometimes, what makes us to give up before even attempting is seeing how good others are when compared to ourself. That is especially evident here on Steemit. When you look at earrings of those post, it kind of intimidates you. That "little voice" will say: "You see, I told you. You can never write so well to gather that number of upvotes, earnings or comments." And the moment you scroll to see the other trending post with high earnings, the voice gets even more stronger. But the obvious reality is this: if you make an attempt, and fail, you have learnt a great deal. Indeed, most people fail to realize that failure is part of success. I have never seen a successful person who never failed at one point or another on the road to success. The difference between them and you is your outlook on what just happened. They take it as a stepping stone to do better, majority others take it as the end of the road. So as much as i have understood it, Always give it a try. Do not give up if you failed initially or did not live up to your personal expectation. Look at what happened, learn from it and move on. No matter how strong that "little voice" is, i always hear and listen to the one that shouts out: "NEVER SAY NEVER"

You got a 24.57% upvote from @foxyd courtesy of @simplymike!

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Just let it flow @simplymike!  This post proves you are good enough!  A good writer knows they inter workings of their mind.  Remember **Action is Power!**  Make it happen!  We support you!

I know how you feel. I'm experiencing that up until now, but I'm trying to mend my mindset too.

I am someone who has lots of thoughts and choices in mind, that sometimes it makes me do less, worst nothing. I became bad at decision making. I've been trying out things with no assurance of what could come up. I wanted to do what I love not what I should. I became someone who is far different from what they've known me. My edges are gone. I must admit, depression has affected me emotionally.

Someone like me who pretends to be strong in front of people I know needs a reminder like this. Having to read this post really strengthens someone who experiences such situation. I was, and many would. 

I hope everyone will continue in believing in the beauty of their dreams. I have been, and will always.

You got a 39.40% upvote from @inciter courtesy of @simplymike!

You shouldn't be afraid of failure. Successful people know that failure is feedback.

If you fail at something, figure out what you did wrong. Fix that, and you'll do better next time.

Wow @simplymike you sound like me! Carbon copy! My last couple of attempts have been quite self-absorbed as I'm in the doldrums ... maybe we should take a chance. I seem to have amazing conversations with myself which would make a fantastic post, but by the time I get to sit in front of the laptop it's all gone! Yesterday while I was driving I came up with something I'd like to write about, so I grabbed the cellphone and sent myself a voice note. Hopefully my next post will prove I'm trying to up my game! Good luck, keep writing, you seem to have an excellent grasp of the English language.

Never give up! I am not a real writing type buth thanks to a post that i found a while ago, i am making progress little by little every day. I don't remember who wrote the post buth it just came down to the fact that you have to force yourself to write a little post every day for at least 30 days in a row. You don't have to actually post them if you don't want to buth after 30 days you feel more free in your writing style and you will feel more comfortable writing things. You dont have to worry abouth your language either because i think that almost 50% of steemians does not have english as there first language. Everybody is just trying there best and we all know how hard it is to write in a language you are not raised with.
The actual posting part is the easiest of them all. Sometimes if you are having doubts, it's better to just close your eyes, hit that post button and see how it goes ;)
I'm sure you will be just fine.

This post has received a 33.71% upvote from @lovejuice thanks to @simplymike. They love you, so does Aggroed. Please be sure to vote for Witnesses at https://steemit.com/~witnesses.

Hey @simplymike, this is an awesome post, and I'm guessing you're not the only one who feels this way.  I taught high school English and History for years and used to tell my students, especially the ones who focused solely on grades, that there is no such thing as failure, there's only *learning* ; Failure only happens when you do *nothing at all*.  

Even if you don't win "that" contest, you can go and read the post which did win, and see what you can improve upon for next time.  I always think that if you can break down the specifics of your 'worry', then perhaps you can focus on that *one* thing to do differently next time.  

Oh and by the way, a BIG congratulations for winning @terminalyill's contest :)

Mike, I wouldn't worry about it so much. Great writers just write and get better with each sentence. If you keep writing you will find that you haven't even reached your potential yet. Most people are too busy looking at themselves to notice your own self scored sense of failure. It's when you pull something amazing, inspired and original out of the bag that they sit up and notice. That kind of is one of the secrets of life. If you can't resist writing then you are a writer. There are levels of course but generally speaking  we all find our own level at something  eventually and the audience *sector* is already there on each and every level, waiting to be informed, entertained and sometimes educated too. ! fear of failure has it's roots in humiliation. If you can reach into where it started, it's much easier to extract, analyse and put in the right place. it may be pushy parents, school bullies, teachers..  Someone made you feel hesitant to share your ideas in the past. It's probably time to let it go. Your writing is good. As long as you can keep the reader interested you are a good write at any level !  who knows how far you can go. Write about the topics which you really fear. You don't have to share the results with anyone but you'll be surprised what passion and interest can do to your output.. and it's infectious.  be inspired by @jaichai

You actually have better English than most native speakers are capable of commanding.  And your writing is very up to snuff.  Don't worry about failure, just do it.  If you see a writing contest, just join it anyway.  What's the worst that can happen?  You write an article everyone else gets to read that doesn't end up getting picked?  So really it's no different than not joining the context, except the fact that if you don't join, you don't have the chance of winning.  There is no lose in this situation, it's a win-win.

Stop the self sabotage and just freaking do it already.  I'll still follow you, I'll still end up reading it, I'll still end up commenting and I'll still end up likely giving you yet another upvote.

In the immortal words of Yoda: "There is no try, only do."   You got this @simplymike.
If you have an idea what to write about, you are already ahead of 80% of us.

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It not been easy, just one thing keeps me going, a man who has nothing to lose has everything to prove, and am determined to do just that, thanks for your masterpiece .

This post has been resteemed by @talhadogan thanks to: @simplymike

I don't join some contests because I don't know if I want to commit the time. If it's not something that grabs my attention and that I think I'll enjoy, I don't join in. 

I think there's another saying that if you don't try, you've already failed. Maybe that can encourage you to give things a shot. If you try and fail, you haven't actually lost anything.

I hope things go well for you. Looking forward to hearing about your successes!

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I feel you.  I am not a writer, I don't pretend to be. I've been told I'm a pretty good storyteller though, but most importantly that I come across as sincere and real.  My passion is more artistic, painting and coloring (LOL)  Yet I have all the same fears.  How do I know what to post?  What's interesting? How do I get more followers, how do I succeed.  So far I have figured out, post. If you don't have a topic or a couple planned out.  Speak from your heart and be yourself.  If you don't take that chance, if you don't try then that is the failure.  Keep at it. You only get better if you keep working at it.  

I think what you wrote here was great. It's clearly written, I can feel your frustration with that twinge sitting in the back 'I can do this.'   I keep telling myself..."How can you fly if you don't jump?"  Keep at it @simplymike  You've got this :)

Well, with this article you've shown already that it's not your writing skills or knowledge of the English language that's holding you back. Sometimes it can be very frightening to share your thoughts with a community and opening yourself up to criticism and feedback... But in the end you have to realize you're doing this for yourself. Maybe try to focus on things you want to realize by blogging. For me personally I have the goal to connect with people, to learn from the articles I read and to improve my written English. Because these goals are purely based on what I do, the fear of getting rejected by others gets minimalised. Maybe this way of thinking can help you aswell :)