Is Strength the Difference between Success and Failure?

I read "Wild at Heart" a while back, and the premise of that book is that the primary question central to a man's life is: "Am I strong enough?  Do I have what it takes?"  This is not necessarily limited to physical strength, but includes intellectual and emotional strength.  One side effect of that insecurity is that men hesitate to risk putting themselves in situations where they may appear to be lacking strength if they fail.

This is as opposed to women, in that line of thought, whose biggest concern is being beautiful, which will only really be reflected in their relationships, not their accomplishments.  Obviously these are both broad generalizations, but I have seen evidence supporting both ideas in the events around me over the last few weeks, when observed from that perspective.  It has been interesting to look farther back, to see how that principle may have been at work in my life.

I have never really viewed myself as someone with superior physical strength, at least in the traditional bodybuilding sense.  I have always been a fast runner, but could barely bench-press my own body weight.  But I can climb an 80 foot tree with 50lbs of gear on my harness, so I am clearly not totally lacking in physical strength.

But the aspect of "strength" in which I most clearly excel is intellectual in nature.  From one perspective, I have no question in my mind, and am totally confident, that I "have what it takes" in that regard.  But upon deeper introspection, I have realized that is not entirely true.  This issue manifests itself in my life in my approach to technical problems versus creative ones.  I have a level of natural talent in both areas, but I usually steer far clear of creative questions in my professional life.  This leads to statements like: "That is a creative question, which you guys are going to have to figure out.  Once you decide what you want, I can tell you how to do it."

I am realizing that is caused by the high standard for being "right" that I have set for myself.  If I propose a solution to a creative problem, it is quite likely that someone else may come up with a better option, or an improvement to my idea, which indirectly makes me look inferior.  While this is possible with solutions to technical problems as well, it is much less likely.  Technical problems usually have a "right" answer, and I am someone who can usually figure out exactly what that is.  I am probably one of the best in the world at finding quick and efficient solutions to technical problems in the sphere of my professional life.  With such a high reputation when viewed from that perspective, I hesitate to offer my "opinion" to questions of a creative nature.  In those cases the only "right" answer is the one that other people agree is optimal, a criterion which I have no control over.

When working on my own projects, I have no issue with making creative decisions, but in the realm of my job and professional situations, I have trouble taking that risk.  From a practical career perspective, I need to get over that insecurity about how my creative ideas and opinions are received in that context, in order to continue moving forward, since I have pretty much topped out on the technical side.

Feel of failure in regards to emotional strength is another whole issue, which plays out primarily in relationships, as opposed to accomplishments.  I anticipate that will be one of the primary topics in my next few posts.