Fear of Failure

Failure comes to all of us at some point in our lives and in some shape or form; however the fear of failure can become one of your biggest life fears.

Fear of failure really is just a fear of the unknown. You don’t know what’s out there, and so you’re scared, sometimes to the point where you want to give up entirely just to avoid failing!  It doesn’t take long to figure out that the ultimate is to not try at all!

How can you overcome the fear of failure and gain the confidence you need to succeed?

Consider these actions steps:

1. Imagine the worst case scenario. Of course, you should spend time imagining everything turning out well, but it actually helps to imagine the worst case. This is because, while horrible, imagining the worst case gives your fears a face. Your fears are then no longer the unknown and they may not be quite as scary.

2. Take action. The fear of failure can hold you hostage but when you take bold action, you’re able to recognize you simply made a mistake, learn from it and move on.

3. Talk to successful people. Ask them about the times they experienced failure and how they felt. It’s likely that they were afraid and that they’ve even failed greatly before reaching success.

4. Learn to use affirmations. Daily affirmations help to change your mind set about your fears and can reprogram your thinking so you know you will succeed at anything you attempt.

5. Know that you will keep trying.  When faced with failure it is important to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and give it another try.

Help is always Available

Many people the world over suffer the fear of failure so of course there are many people to talk to who can help you.  It is wise to talk to those who have failed many times and overcome this but trying again and again. Of course a Counselor, trained in this field can also provide enormous assistance and support.

Long Term

Remember that life is full of lessons, and when we don’t learn the lesson the first time we get it back again and again until we understand and learn the lesson, that’s really all that failure is, a lesson in life’s journey!

Do you know The Power of Failure?

Do you have a fear of failure? if so you may not know the power of failure! Read on to find out more about Failure…

What do you think when you hear the word failure? You probably are thinking that you’re not good enough and that you should give up?

While failure can involve those thoughts and emotions, failure can also make us stronger or wiser.

A simple definition of failure is:

An act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success.

You might easily have a fear of failure if you don’t understand the power of failure!

When I think of this definition of failure, I’m reminded of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. While there are many conflicting stories of how many times Edison “failed” at inventing the electric light bulb, most agree it was in the thousands before he found the right combination of materials.

One of Edison’s most famous quotes is, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

If you adopt this same attitude, you’ll overcome your feelings of failure and be able to see your dreams and desires come to fruition.

Robert Schuller stated these famous words, “Failure doesn’t mean you’re a failure; it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.”

Henry Ford said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

When you consider those words from these wise and successful people, you’ll truly begin to understand the power of failure.

The truth is, you only fail when you give up!

When you keep trying until you’ve found the answer or the solution, you’re successful. You’d never say Thomas Edison, Robert Schuller or Henry Ford were failures would you? Sure, they were unsuccessful many, many times, but they didn’t give up until they found the answer, the right procedure or the right materials to solve their dilemma.

In case those quotes weren’t enough to make you believe failure has a positive power and strength, here are some more you might relate to:

“Failure is an event, never a person.” – William D. Brown

The next time you try your hand at something and don’t achieve the desired result immediately, remember failure is an event; it’s not you.

Bill Cosby also said it well when he said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

If you’re trying to please everyone, you can’t possibly succeed!

“Never confuse a single defeat with final defeat.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

“You can’t have any successes until you can accept failures.” – George Cukor

Just because you’ve failed once, twice or 10,000 times at something, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. You only fail when you stop trying.

Still not convinced? How about this:

“You always pass failure on your way to success.” – Mickey Rooney

What do these words mean to you? No matter what you’re trying to succeed at, whether it’s a sport, project, career, invention, or at school, there will be times when you don’t succeed. But you mustn’t let that stop you from reaching your goals, dreams, and desires.

The common thread among all these famous people and their wise words is the same. You can’t have success without failure. Never give up and never stop trying.

There is power in failure, you just have to give yourself a chance. Keep trying, keep failing and soon you’ll find true success!

There’s No Such Thing As Failure

How many times have you not done something because you were afraid of failure? This is common and most people have done it. After all, nobody likes to fail. Failure makes us feel like we are lacking in something or we just aren’t good enough. So it’s easy to see why people would want to avoid failure.

Did you know that failure doesn’t exist unless you say it does? So it’s up to you whether failure exists or not. If you look failure up in the dictionary, it can mean a few different things such as failure to perform the right way, giving way under stress, unable to succeed.

If you give a good look to these definitions, you may be able to see that failure is actually a perception. And as you know perceptions are a personal thing which are not written in stone.

You are a failure when you believe you have failed. If you believe you can’t do something, you can’t. If you believe that you can’t succeed, then you can’t succeed. If you believe that you can’t handle something, then you can’t. If you believe you can’t reach your goals, then you won’t. So as you can see, failure is all in your mind. Failure comes from giving up or not even trying because you don’t believe in yourself.

If you don’t want to be a failure, then tell yourself it doesn’t exist. If you don’t give up, then there is no failure.

This is an encouraging state of mind, because you know if you keep at it, then you can’t fail. So if you haven’t seen the results you want to see yet, keep at it, and you can’t fail. Here are some tips to help you with your goals:

1) Don’t give yourself an out- Make a commitment to reaching your goals and don’t give up if it becomes difficult or you lose some motivation. People give themselves an out without realizing they are. They find they have lost motivation so they see that as a reason to stop. Or they find out it is more difficult than they expected and use that as a reason to stop. Make a commitment to keep at it.

2) Don’t give yourself a certain time frame- Don’t give yourself a specific deadline to complete your goal. If you do this, you may get behind and then seeing that you won’t be able to complete your goals on time, you may see that as a reason to give up. Sometimes things are beyond our control. If you get sick or you have to take care of a sick relative, then you should temporarily put your goal on the back burner until things get back to normal. Then you should resume working on your goal. You don’t know when you will finish, so don’t set a specific deadline.

3) Don’t view obstacles as failure- Obstacles are not the same as failure. Obstacle means you may have to work harder at completing your goal. It has nothing to do with failure. If you find yourself facing obstacles and setbacks, then just tackle them one by one. It doesn’t mean you are weak or a failure.

I believe – no matter how long your goal takes to reach, you are only a failure if you never give up!