Fearing failure is something we have experienced ever since we were children. After all, fear is one of the basic human emotions, and some amount of it is vital to help us keep out of danger.
But sometimes, this anxiety becomes overwhelming. Fearing failure too much can have its impact on our performance, and in some cases, we even find ourselves aborting the whole plan because of how much we are afraid of failing at it.
Overcoming this fear of failure is essential for us to succeed in life. Fortunately, many practices can help us tackle our fears and face the challenges life presents us more bravely and less-stressfully.
Let's have a look at ten practices that can help you overcome your fear of failure and be more confident at life:
1. Get to the Roots of Your Fears
First, it's essential to understand why you fear to fail in the first place? What do you think will happen if you fail? Why do you think that you will fail and not succeed?
Sit comfortably, take a deep breath, and think about it. Most of the times, our fears are exaggerated. Observing them will help you be clear about your situation.
Is there even something dangerous to be afraid of, or is your mind just over-reacting?
2. Analyze Your Fears Rationally
Fear is a complex emotion. Tackling it in our mind on our own can be a challenging task.
For you to thoroughly understand the true extent of the danger you're in, you need to look your fears from a rational perspective. Only then can you genuinely know if your situation is even that severe to worry in the first place?
Write your fears down so you can simplify them and see them on paper without emotions. Consulting with others about your concerns will also help you gain a better insight on your situation.
3. Think More Positively
How are you so sure that you are bound to fail? Look at all your great past achievements and how overwhelming and stressful they felt at the moment. But you still ended up victorious.
Identify and stop your self-sabotaging behaviours like self-criticism, procrastination or excessive worrying and fix the things that are dragging you down.
Developing a rational and positive approach towards your goals will help you be more confident and motivated towards being successful.
4. Accept the Inevitable
Face the facts. You are never going to have things just simply handed over to you. You will have to work hard and also face some failures along the way.
Almost every great man has suffered defeats and setbacks, some were even homeless in the beginning, but they knew that it’s a part of the process and they never gave up.
Similarly, you will face many temporary failures, understand that they will happen. Anticipating some amount of failure beforehand will help you ease your anxiety and push you through tough times.
5. Failure Builds Character
Trials and difficulties in life make us stronger and build our character.
This does not imply that you should look out for failures, but whenever you fail, you are also gaining knowledge by learning something and getting a glimpse of the right path.
Failure will teach you control and give you a chance for self-growth. Temporary defeats will point out the areas where you lack and need improvement in. Failure is the best teacher.
Learning from mistakes will make you more mature and a better person.
6. What's the Worst that Could Happen?
Your fears might indeed turn out to be true and you may fail. But the consequences are mostly not as disastrous as you think of them to be. Imagine what's the worst that could happen?
Will it really be that unbearable? Even if it is, you will find that with the time you will recover or that it won't be that terrifying in the first place.
Thinking like this, you will see that even if you fail, it won't be the end of the world and things will be quite easily bearable in most cases and there will be always other options.
7. Remember: Regret is Always Stronger than Failure
You lose 100% of the shots you do not take.
There can be two cases. First is, you try and fail, and the second is, you don't do anything and then keep thinking that you could have done it if you tried. The latter is always more painful because you never know.
You don't want "What if?" thoughts to haunt you in the future and cause restless nights. Regret will always be a more powerful feeling. So, don't back down. You might succeed, and even if you fail, you will know that you gave it your best shot.
8. Always Have a Backup Plan
Create a contingency plan. Give your initial plan your best shot. But if you don't succeed, try something else.
There are hundreds of ways to do the same thing. If one path doesn't work, choose another. If you fail, think to yourself; given my circumstances, what can be my next best approach?
Having different backup plans will give you confidence and help lessen your anxieties related to your failures.
9. Strategize your Approach
Create a practical plan and start taking action. Sitting idle and focusing on adverse outcomes won't get you anywhere.
Goals provide direction and will help you with better decision making.
Having a step by step plan will help you define what's the next best step you can take. Realistic and challenging goals will increase your chances of success by a significant margin.
10. What if you Succeed?
On the positive side, think of all the great things that would happen if you end up victorious. What if you don't fail? What if you finally achieve your goals?
When you think about all the positives that could come from pushing through and achieving your dreams, you will find that fearing failure is never worth it.
Because of fear, you might be missing out on a chance of achieving your biggest goals and dreams. So, have a positive mind and keep moving towards your goal. Because no feeling is better than finally being successful.
Conclusion
Overcoming your fears of failing is not a simple task. But it’s well worth the effort. Fearing failure is something you must learn to manage if you ever want to fulfil your dreams.
Using these techniques will help you understand that your fear is nothing but your thoughts. You have nothing to fear but fear itself. Self-limiting behaviours and irrational fears are the only things standing between you and your dreams. But once you get a hold of yourself and start approaching them rationally, you can easily overcome your fear of failure.