The fear of failure is a fear that so many people have. It is a fear that is not always easy to identify. A lot of people mask this fear with self assurance that what they would like to do won’t work and it is only a silly dream. Or that it is not a very practical thing to pursue. This fear prevents most of those people from doing the things they dream of doing.
We all have dreams of the lives we would like to be living or the business we would like to start or the job we would like to have. People who fear failure are limiting themselves and will not achieve what they are capable of without overcoming this fear.
The fear of failure is very much rooted in the fear of what others think about us. It is a fear of rejection, or a fear of how people will view us. We are so worried that others will think less of us if we fail, so we just decide it is not worth it to try. The funny thing about it though, is that those same people we are worried about have the same fear of failure that we do, and for all we know they may admire us for even trying.
If you want to be successful you must overcome your fear of failure. I am talking about success in a very broad sense. The fear of failure is always going to hold you back from what you really want in life. You must start thinking of failure a different way. Think of failure as a positive outcome. When you fail you learn. No one gets it right the first time every time. From failure comes success. Successful people understand this and do not fear failure but embrace it.
The best thing you can do to begin overcoming your fear of failure is to take action. Action is the most important step any of us can take when going after our dreams, because if we don’t take action we will just talk ourselves out of doing anything at all. Action can be broken up into multiple actions. If you are wanting to move to a new place you may start by making a list of all the things you need to get done before you can get on the plane and go. Then set a date when you need to have everything done and be on you way to that new place. Now you can break all those things up and do a little at a time. Just take action as soon as possible or you probably won’t take it at all.
If you fail you must be persistent. You must not give up just because something did not work out the way you thought it was going to. If it is something you really want, keep going for it until you get it. Use your failure as a learning experience and use the knowledge you gain on your next try. Persistence is a very important part of overcoming the fear of failure.
Let’s go back to the idea that the fear of failure is also sometimes the fear of what others will think about us. It is very important to realize that others feelings towards us are usually a reflection of how those people think about themselves. If we fail others may like that because it reaffirms to them that their dreams are not reachable either. It makes them feel good to see someone else fail and know that it is not them failing. But we need to break free from caring about what those people think, because when we fail we should not take it personally. It does not mean that we are not capable of succeeding. It only means that we now have more information for the next time we try again. Just think how people will think of you when you are persistent and actually succeed at what you wanted.
So go and take action on the dreams you have for your life. And embrace the idea of failure, don’t fear it anymore. Remember to always be persistent. You may fail several times before you get it right but that is all part of the learning process.
Related Posts:
Hey Jib, those are great words of wisdom; well said and very true.