5 Tools to Get Over Your Fear of Failure
3/18/2016
Everyone can relate to the fear of failure at some point in his
or her life. When a positive trait like achievement becomes too strong
in someone's life, its on the way to becoming a major handicap. Often
time's we view failure as more of a bigger story we tell ourselves "I am
not good enough" " I will never become a successful entrepreneur" "My
ex spouse was right- I'll never make it on my own-I am a loser."
However, we have to remind ourselves it is just that-a story. We have to
reframe our minds and turn failures as something positive and something
we can learn from. It's important to not turn to external activities
(drinking, drugs, eating etc ) to avoid your fear of failure and instead
create more positive ways to deal with it.
Here are 5 Tools to Get Over Your Fear of Failure:
1. Talking it Out
It
is important to face your fears and not suppress them by having someone
you can trust to discuss your discomforts or shortcomings. By having
someone to talk to about your fears it can better frame the situation by
objectively looking at it from afar and realizing that the big problem
was not so big after all. By talking with someone its also important to
not dwell on your fears and an opportunity to strategize how you can
break down the tasks into smaller pieces to not make it look so daunting
and motivate you to face your fears.
2. Meditation
Meditation
is an excellent way to reduce fears of failure. As you begin practice
you begin to notice patterns of fear arise and the hold they have on
you. With practice you can recognize these thoughts as just
that-thoughts-and not to become attached to them. You'll no longer find
your subconscious fear or resentment running your life from beneath your
awareness. Through meditation, as you train yourself to not let your
emotions control you or to be completely subject to them it will become
easier to do this in your life as a whole as well.
3. Surround Yourself with Positivity
Another
tool to help you with your fear of failure is to surround yourself with
positivity. Getting rid of toxic people in your life who only dwell on
why something will and cannot be done is not very motivating and puts
additional fears into your mind. Also, do not read negative media often.
Sure it is important to keep up with world events but constantly
listening to the traffic accident on the highway or the latest terrorist
attack is stifling in your attempt to move forward in your own personal
goals. Your physical surroundings are key as well. If you work from
home and hate the colour of your walls, do not get enough sunlight and
are not energized by your atmosphere that can make things worse.
Surround yourself with pictures, positive affirmations, and anything
else that generally makes you feel good to improve your mindset and
attitude towards your goals.
4. Failing More Leads to Success
Yes
that's right-failing more leads to success! Persistence is key.
Successful people do not give up after suffering a defeat. Even Malcolm
Gladwell said it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve
mastery in a field. Statistics say that most entrepreneurs fail in their
first business and that on average they finally succeed on their third
business attempt. Failure seems to be the stepping stone to success.
Understanding what happened and what you learned from it is the most
important aspect of failing and the wisdom you will bring towards your
next attempt of success. We all fail, its how quickly you pick yourself
up and how long you waste time feeling sorry for yourself that usually
determines success.
5. Self Growth
Every time you fail, your
fear of failure becomes much smaller, which allows you to take on even
bigger challenges. Each failure makes you stronger, bigger, and better.
Failure teaches you that a certain approach may not be ideal for a
specific situation and there are better approaches. Every mistake is a
learning opportunity and a chance to look at your mistakes with a new
perspective. Failing is essential in personal development and you simply
will never grow as a person if you don't put yourself out there and be
willing to try and inevitably make mistakes.
So there you have it
folks! Setting yourself up for failure is integral to your success in
your personal and professional development. Just remember that failure
is a stepping stone to your goals and to not let the failure define you
as a person.
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