Sometimes you fail if you try too hard. You hold on to something so tight that you break it in your fist, leaving only dust and debris. You know this if you’ve ever been so over-eager about something that you end up getting overcome by adrenaline and you lose control. For instance, so you’re due to deliver a speech at your company event. You spend weeks writing and re-writing your speech. You practice it in front of the mirror, in front of family, and you think about it while you’re going to sleep. You’ve memorized your inflection, where to pause for laughter, and what you’re going to do with your hands. 

Then the day comes, you get up to the podium, head swimming from all your preparation. You stumble on the first word. You didn’t practice how to recover. You’re too focused on your plan. You’re absolutely screwed. This can happen to the best of us. Sometimes failure comes when we least expect it.