Gone Viral (Send Help)
When the fear of failure is replaced by something far more terrifying
We spend so much time bracing ourselves for failure that we rarely stop to imagine what success might demand of us.
He sighed, mashing the backspace key. Why was writing so hard? Trying to be insightful, funny, intelligent and self-deprecating. All at once.
Deep down, the voice whispered: You can’t do this. Quitting your job was a mistake. Go back to sales. Sure, you were bored, but you weren’t broke.
He exhaled, closed his eyes, breathing deeply. His eyes snapped open, and he started typing, pressing Post before he could second-guess himself.
The next morning, dinging jolted him awake. He squinted at his phone, then sat bolt upright.
Likes, comments and shares, oh my!
He stared in disbelief as the numbers continued to rise. Comments like ‘Amazing!!!’ and ‘You are the voice of our generation.’
His elation faded as he saw one comment.
‘I can’t wait to read more.’
He’d spent so long fearing failure, he hadn’t considered the pressure of success.
Oh no, this is much worse.
Prompt: A character discovers that the thing they were afraid of isn’t what they thought it was.
As always, a massive thank you to Story Lamp Reviews on Medium for providing the amazing prompt.
Here is another prompt inspired by the choices we make:
Paid subscribers can also explore the inspirations behind each story.