Conventional wisdom tells us to focus on clear, achievable and measurable goals. Unfortunately though, with everything that matters in life, outcomes cannot be guaranteed. 

You might ask your crush on a date but they could say yes or no.
You might see your dream job advertised but there’s no way of knowing if you'll get it.
You might want to learn the trumpet but have no idea if you'll be good at it.
You might have a cool idea for a new feature but can’t know in advance if customers will love it.

Uncertainty is unavoidable. If we limit our scope to activities where the result is knowable in advance or obviously achievable, we’re never going to develop, grow, or fulfill our potential.

Fortunately there’s a simple solution. When we’re presented with an interesting idea or opportunity, rather than focusing on how certain the outcome is, we should simply ask “What’s my downside?” And if it’s acceptable, go right ahead.

This simple re-framing is immensely powerful. Once you realize how little downside you face in most situations, you'll be willing to give more things a go, and increase your scope of opportunity exponentially.

See this post on LinkedIn