5 Tips for Overcoming Your Fear of Failure
Everyone wants to achieve some measure of success in their lives. It’s the natural order of things. But there are some who are afraid of taking the risk, and may choose not to engage in the quest to succeed.
Fear of failure may not be the underlying problem. It just may be the fear of success that allows one to sabotage any hope of achieving a particular goal. This is not an uncommon occurrence. There are some people who, when they are just on the brink of something wonderful, suddenly they walk away or end the quest without explanation.
This fear is altogether different, yet it holds the same entrapment one experiences when the going gets too rough, or the light at the end of the tunnel is clear but the thrill is more in the journey than the destination.
If you have a fear of failure, there are some things you can do to overcome them.
1. Determine what it is that is holding you back. What is the fear?
2. Re-examine your life and try to pinpoint the first time fear overcame you.
3. Talk with a friend or a professional who can be objective about your situation.
4. Make a list of failures. Count how many times you’ve failed and the reasons why. Self-realization is important at this point. Once you determine why you failed, you can then understand the fear behind it. Why was the goal to difficult to reach? Was the success to difficult to handle?
5. Be completely honest with yourself about your fear. Don’t make up excuses for why you failed, but understand the mechanisms behind the failure.
Fear is real. It is not a contrived excuse to avoid something, but it is a genuine feeling that something will happen. Fear comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be brought on by anxiety attacks, panic attacks, generalized anxiety, and the overall belief that to reach for that brass ring will yield nothing, or worse – impending doom.
You can overcome whatever fear you have. Start slowly, examine your life; look for signs which will explain where the fear is coming from but, more importantly, look within. If there are self-esteem issues, self-doubt issues, or feelings of unworthiness – you can conquer them with help and guidance from a family member, friend, or professional. Don’t give up. You are worth it.