Fear of Failure? Face it. Destroy it.
I have been trying to write for almost three years. Every time I started to write, I stopped after a few pages and wondered if anyone will even read my work. Thoughts such as these jolted me and blanked me out. I found my desire slipping away, even before I could motivate myself to begin my journey.
In our lives, the fear of failure is so strongly wired in our system that it keeps hitting us more often than necessary, succumbing us to its vice righteously. We get so used to the idea of failing that even if the possibility is low, we create situations that would lead us to this dreaded feeling – Fear of Failure.
Face it:
The first step is to observe our response to different situations. Identifying the situations where we tend to fear failure will help us tremendously to chart out an appropriate action plan. Once we identify the various situations, where we tend to take a step backwards, we need to observe our natural response to such situations. Is it criticism that we fear? Is it lack of knowledge that makes us shy away from taking responsibilities? There are numerous reasons that can cause this dreaded fear.
Destroy it:
Now that we know what makes us want to flee the spot and hide under the table, lets now make corrective actions. For example, if you believe that you don’t have enough knowledge to take up a certain responsibility then work in reducing that knowledge gap. Or if you believe that you will forget your speech when you walk onto that dais, rehearse and practice hard!
What did I do?
I faced my fear of failure by recognizing the root cause- my belief that my work is not good enough to be published. Once I had addressed this fear, I was surprisingly at peace with myself. I then destroyed my fear by showing my work to a few renowned writers and finally by religiously working on their constructive feedback.
Food for thought:
Fear of failure is what drives us to work on our weaknesses and grow constructively. It is actually a great motivation, provided we take it in the right spirit- by addressing our fears and constructively taking corrective actions to grow as an individual. After all, there are brighter things to experience and beautiful people to love!
The answer is with you. Are you going to destroy your fear or let it destroy you instead?
