This is a pretty scary question that can have heavy consequences. What if the chemotherapy doesn't work? What if the interview preparation doesn't work? What if my plan to avoid this uncomfortable conversation doesn't work? What if my salary / promotion negotiation tactic doesn't work?
Because so many scary situations are covered with this one question AND we tend to avoid things that scare us, this question holds a lot of power over us. Today let's use this opportunity to dismantle this question and actually answer: what if it doesn't work?
What Determines Something Working
Whenever an idea feels too "big" inside of your head, it helps to think of it in separate dimensions. Let's break down 3 components of the big question of "what if it doesn't work".
Existence Of Problem
When you need a procedure or a treatment, most of the time it's because something is already deviated from the baseline norm and you are already ill. In this case you're in a bad spot, trying to get a solution for it, and in the best case you're out of the bad spot (conversely in the worst case you're still in the bad spot or an even worse spot).
What about elective procedures like plastic surgery or weight loss on a non-morbidly-obese body? This is fundamentally different from your health being below a baseline state. You're at the baseline state or above it, but are doing something to improve yourself. In this case, is there a reason to worry? It is nonsensical to worry about whether your workouts will make you too healthy.
Responsible Party
Let's think back on the surgery scenario. In this case, something is wrong. But YOU are not the one operating on yourself; the operation is up to the doctor. By worrying about something you don't have control over, you're not really helping yourself resolve anything. Suppose I tear my LCL during jiujitsu and I have to get surgery. My worrying about the surgery is not helpful to me at all, but me making plans for a potential lifetime of inability to walk is something that is helpful to me (researching wheelchair options, making sure my home is accessible, etc).
Post-surgery rehab, on the other hand, is up to me. And suing the doctor in the case of a malpractice during surgery is also up to me. By bringing the focus back to me, I can either start to deal with the worries or let it go because the worry doesn't need to belong to me.
Desired Outcome
What do I want as a result of my action? I find that clients spend a surprisingly small amount of time thinking about this important piece of the equation. An appendectomy will remove the infected appendix, so the most obvious desired outcome of an appendectomy is not having an infected appendix. But what's stopping me from wanting more? Maybe the doctor could really do me a favor and pump some probiotics in there while they can so my digestive health will be in better shape.
This is an unrealistic desired outcome. It's like going to a restaurant and expecting to come out sweating with a great workout. Normally our misaligned desired outcomes aren't as wild as this, but we fail to reasonably draw a line of where our desired outcome ends.
For example many people want to get in better shape. But what's the desired outcome? Is it improved stamina and vitality? Is it more muscular strength? Is it less joint pain? Is it exuding confidence that will attract partners? Because we don't clearly think about our desired outcome we keep over-hoping and start worrying about not reaching our over-hoped goals.
Here is the matrix in visual format. Each combination of the three dimensions creates a different scenario:
This is where your worry is most productive. Focus your energy here.
The worry doesn't belong to you. Plan for outcomes, not the process.
Recalibrate what you're hoping for before worrying about the how.
Double detachment: not your control, not a realistic expectation.
Nothing is wrong and the goal is reasonable. Why are you worrying?
Nothing is wrong, someone else handles it, and the goal is fine. Let go.
The gym won't make you a model. Adjust the expectation, enjoy the process.
The restaurant won't give you a workout. This worry is pure fiction.
Consequences Of Not Working
This work should reveal something to you: most of the worry actually comes from loss aversion.
Loss aversion is one of the strongest traits of the human mind, characterized by a deep aversion to failure and a preference for keeping life exactly the same at an unconscious level. It acts as a mental safeguard where individuals fixate heavily on potential "unrealized losses," which ultimately prevents them from taking advantage of new possibilities and "unrealized gains".
Loss aversion impacts human behavior in several restrictive ways:
- It creates a "resisting heart" toward change
- It turns cherished achievements into "shackles"
- It drives irrational decisions
In the above section I talked about the knee surgery potentially going wrong to the point of needing to sue the doctor. These are things that can happen, but the point is this: there is always something you can do regardless of what happens. Even if the weight loss injection makes you actually gain weight, there is something you can do about it AND you have more data that you can use to make more informed decisions in the future. At the very least you know not to get injections that you don't fully understand the risks of.
In conclusion, regardless of what you're asking "what if it doesn't work" about, one thing remains the same: there is always something you can do if it doesn't work when you remove all the reasons to worry about it.