[r3trohack3r]

Not OP but I read this as it’s hard for the ego to take.

Even for bets that require little financial investment (i.e. digging deeper into physics) and occupy R&R time - failing can be hard to take.

We like to believe we are the version of ourselves capable of doing anything. If you do nothing - you can die believing you wasted your potential. If you do something and fail to meet your own expectations, you can die knowing there wasn’t any potential there to waste.

[allenu]

This is so true. I think the fantasy that we have the capacity to do amazing things in our lives, but there's some external force stopping us, is a lovely, ego-saving one.

I've always thought, I have some great ideas and if I'm ever able to take some time off, I can build something that will surely be successful. A few months ago, I decided that this is as good a time at any at striking out on my own, so I quit my job to pursue my own projects.

With a few months under my belt, I'm realizing, wow it's not that easy. Doubt starts creeping in: Maybe I don't have what it takes. The fantasy I had is starting to crumble a little bit and I start to wonder, if I give up on this dream, what other fantasy can I fall back on when times are tough and I want to dream of a better future?