“Doubt has killed more dreams than failure ever will,” is a popular Suzy Kassem quote, especially for those who are too afraid of failing at something that they don’t even bother to try. Think of all the songs and books that were never written or the athletes and artists that never made it because they were too afraid of failing.
Or, imagine the pressure professional athletes or musicians feel to perform well enough that the audience isn’t disappointed in them.
This doubt or fear is what psychologists call loss aversion, and while it was a widely used concept in marketing and advertising, researchers are now beginning to understand that it plays a bigger role in our day-to-day lives.
