Most people don’t achieve their dreams because they don’t want to fail.
According to a google search, the definition of failure is: “the omission of expected or required action.”
It isn’t a big deal, it simply means that something didn’t turn out as expected.
The way to meet expectations is to practise meeting them, make lots of mistakes and learn what doesn’t work.
The truth is, many people experience, or have sometimes experienced, a fear of failure.
According to research, we can influence the way we perceive and feel about failure. All of us have to think of failure as part of the learning experience and the journey forward.
Why? – Because if we fail, it means that we have taken risks and that we are brave. Plus, we cannot know in advance whether these risks will turn out to be successes or failures. Having said that, taking risks indicates that we are improving our chances of experiencing some amazing new things.
All of this sounds simple in theory. Let’s look at some steps to help you to overcome your fear of failure:
1. Identify the benefits of your past failures
It can be challenging to see it in the moment, but failing builds strength and confidence. Through the act of failing, we get stronger each time we push ourselves back up. What if we flipped failure on its head and collected it like badges of honour? What if a minimum of five failures per month was required as proof that we are putting ourselves out there in a big way?
Finding benefits in past failures may help you to become more robust and more prepared the next time you fail.
- Take note of the top three things you have learned from your past failures.
- Think about how to use what you have learned to keep such failures from happening in the future.
- By listening to other’s stories, you can minimise your fear and learn from their experiences.
2. Learn to think more positively
What if you confronted your fear by changing your attitude towards it? If you could learn to think more positively about your challenge ahead and stop expecting the worst to happen you will leave no room in your mind for negative thoughts and fear.
Positive thinking is an effective technique to build self-confidence and counteract self-sabotage.
Remember, it is all in your mind. By thinking positively and visualising positive outcomes, you will act accordingly and do your best to make success happen.
3. Don’t be too hard on yourself when you fail
What if you decided ahead of time that when you fail, you will not beat yourself up over it and you will not quit?
Doing this will make you much more likely to take the risks that success requires.
Even though you are doing your best and trying as hard as you can to complete a task successfully, failure can happen.
Keep remembering that no one is perfect and that everyone fails sometimes. Try being supportive, kind and caring to yourself and choose to be proud of yourself for giving it a go.
Final thoughts
When you take action, you either do or do not get the result that you want, but you will always learn what works and what doesn’t work. This increases your capability by practising and getting better at it.
If you aren’t taking action you are failing ahead of time which teaches you nothing.
So if you are going to fail, make sure you fail by taking action and learning rather than by doing nothing and trying to stay comfortable.
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” ~Elbert Hubbard.
Medical Disclaimer: All information contained in this blog is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent health problems. For all serious health issues, please contact a medical or nutrition practitioner. The information provided in this blog is based on the best knowledge of the author at the time of writing and we do not assume liability for the information within this blog, be it direct or indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages.
References:
Thelifecoachschool.com