I learned some things form the time I was doing weight lifting that apply to life in general. Before going to the gym I apprehended the upcoming weight lifting sessions to be burdensome, threatening, worrisome and frightening. The following contrasting statements show what I mean:
THOUGHT: You think of how hard it will be to be under the weight. REALIZED: The point of lifting the weight is for it to be hard. No effort = no adaptation. When it is hard, it is good.
THOUGHT: You wonder if you will fail. REALIZED: You may fail every once and a while. You need to be close to that point. You may not know where that pont is unless you fail. When you experience failure you know where the point is, then in successive sessions you can come close to but not cross over the failure point.
THOUGHT: You wonder if your form will be bad. REALIZED: Some times mistakes in form teach what good form is.
THOUGHT: You wonder if you will injure yourself. REALIZED: It is good to have the fear of injury, that keeps you in good form and not over trained.
THOUGHT: You wonder if people will be in your way. REALIZED: If you are not in the gym you do not know how many people will be there. In fact I found most of the time all has been clear.
