Get Over Your Fear of Failure To Succeed In Life
Dreading failure can be viewed as mental quicksand. Maybe you’re unhappy with how things are right now in your life, but don’t feel good about the options available for changing your life meaningfully either. People are big on procrastination, able to come up with a zillion excuses for not moving forward, when in fact, they’re just scared.
Conquer The Fear Of Failure
Someone’s fear of failure can stem from other stuff. Some stress over the thought of wasting time on things that they feel will ultimately not work out. There are those who worry about others criticizing or judging them. The sad part about fear is that it keeps people from discovering and realizing their full potentials. They’re forever in the dark about what they’re capable of.
Is your fear holding you back? Set yourself free from fear’s shackles using these concepts:
- It’s all in the mind – Focus on the thrill of the journey instead of the destination when finding out exactly how far an idea can be taken. Let goals be about discovery rather than finishing something in particular.
- Visualize preferred results clearly – How do you define success? For many, it’s not really a fear of failing, but a fear of disappointing others in their expectations. The meaning of success to you might not be the same. Remember: Your life, your choice of how success will look like.
- Anticipate possible worst-case scenarios – What if the worst did happen, how would you cope? It helps to have backup plans ready for any eventuality. Failing won’t be as scary if you know you’ve prepared for the absolute worst outcome.
- Sometimes it’s not about you – Internalizing every bad experience can lead to serious depression. Think about your actual hand in the situation. Different factors beyond your control come into play too. It’s counterproductive and makes no sense to assume all responsibility for the failure.
Examples: Disregarding the effect of distance on intimate relationships, or failure to consider the economy’s effects on new business endeavors. Both are totally unreasonable. Other stuff that can’t be controlled can cause failure too so quit with the self-blame.
- Results, results – One sure way to decide if something works is to determine what does not. People learn by testing out ideas and theories. Successful or not, there are lessons learned from every experiment. The point is to try. All that’s left later is to apply what has been learned to come up with better fixes for future attempts.
- Consider the “what ifs” and “could’ve beens” – Sometimes it’s more painful to be a spectator than to actually do something even when you’re terrified of failing. Think how it’s going to feel decades later if you don’t act now. Seldom do you find people regretting things where they failed. It’s often the stuff they didn’t try that has them feeling sorry.
Success is inversely proportional to fear of failure. The lower your failure fear level is, the greater your success potential. Sooner or later, you have to move forward even if it scares you. Take action even if you get an attack of the nerves. Success doesn’t come easy. There are often a few uncomfortable bumps along the way so learn to deal with them. Follow the tips above to overcome the fear of failing and you’re looking at a life of positivity ahead.
