Overcome the Fear of Failure
Lately as I’ve been talking to different people I’m finding that a lot of people out there have what most would term a Fear of Failure. There are a lot of ways that you could define this, but one of the most common ways that I see it manifested in my own and other people’s lives is when we’re afraid to take any action because we don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Should we start that new website? Should I start that new diet? It sounds like a good idea but let me research it more….. and the day never comes that a decision is made to more forward.
I would also dare say that all of us have been guilty of this at one point or another. Sometimes this fear seems to show itself as a paralysis of analysis. In other words a person will continue to research so much until they basically convince themselves that their once good idea has no chance of working. Talk about self-destructive!
So how do you overcome this? Well, I wish that I had a universal answer for this. The fact is, you need to overcome it. So instead of telling you how to do it for you, let me just explain a technique that someone taught me a few years ago. Here are the steps:
- Write out what’s worrying you
Make a list of the things that would happen if you failed. Basically, face your fears. - Think about the list
The next step is to look at your list and decide if you can handle those things happen - Decide if it’s worth it
If you can accept the bad consequences, then you’re ok to move forward. If the possibilities that are worrying you are too much, maybe you shouldn’t proceed.
I know its a very simple concept, but to summarize it you have to face your fears ans worries and decide if they are something that you could actually handle. If the answer is yes, the do the thing you’re trying to do. If the answer is no, then it might be time to back out.
After awhile this process becomes second nature and you may not even have to write it out. But the first couple of times you might want to in order to really think about it.
I hope this idea helps at least someone out there!
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I think this is called ‘opportunity seeking’ instead of ‘opportunity buying’.
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Hey annl,
Good point. It would be so easy if all you had to do was pay $1000 bucks or whatever and voila! you have money rolling in. In the end, its up to the individual to take action and start to make things happen. Thanks for the comment!
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I kind of took the opposite route; I made lists of goals. From easily attainable all the way to ‘no way in Hell.’ Everytime I tick one off, it keeps me motivated.
Granted, I had no startup costs. But I’m moving off of free hosting, and I’ll be using this goal list a second time.
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Jeremy,
Thanks for the comment. I think what you did is another great way to go. Thanks for sharing!
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I like it! It was much like what Abraham Maslow said, One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth….. Fear must be overcome again and again. And I think the suggestions there are great!
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Thanks for the quote, I really like that one!
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I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting
When you actually start to face your fears, it’s amazing that what you thought was going to be so terrible winds up not being that bad after all.
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Thanks for the help. For me everything that does not work is alienating something that is not worth it, getting me one more step toward success.
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I like it! It was much like what Abraham Maslow said, One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth….. Fear must be overcome again and again. And I think the suggestions there are great!
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Dan Reply:
December 30th, 2008 at 9:27 am
That’s a great quote! Thanks for sharing! Growth takes pushing forward, holding back in the end makes you move backwards.
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