Dear S,

you’ve touched upon something very important, which anita suggested: your fear of failure.

anita said:

My best guess as to why you why didn’t want to pursue college, and/ or aim at a more demanding and higher paying job than your current, is your fear of failure, fear of not performing well-enough.

You replied:

I think that’s a fair assessment, yeah! It does feel like attending school would be very overwhelming, especially going back so late in life and maybe that’s where I’m afraid to fail. And yes I do like to keep my life simple too.

Fear of failure can stem from having been criticized a lot as children and as a result, not feeling good enough. You mentioned you don’t feel good enough at any of your hobbies (I have a lot of hobbies I really enjoy doing but I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at them), so perhaps that mirrors your overall impression of yourself: that of not being good enough.

Has this been your experience?