13 Ways To Overcome Fear of Failure
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते ।
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥
A quote from Bhagwat Gita.
nehābhikramanāśo’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate,
svalpamapyasya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
Krishna says that no effort can be in vain when you are on the path of doing something, especially when it is righteous. All of it will work out in the end.
Further, Krishna also says
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana,
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo’stvakarmaṇi.
Your right is in doing the action, not on the fruits of it. Don’t do action for the sake of the fruit but don’t indulge in inactivity either.
Let's dive right in..
Our mind battles similar battlefields in a similar way Arjuna fought on the battlefield. Most of us struggle every day with worries. We procrastinate every single decision we make.
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In this article, we have got you covered, with everything that can help you to overcome fear of failures.
Firstly,
When we do an action, the results can either be in our favor or against us. There’s a 50-50 probability of the outcome being in our favor, but if we don’t do anything, the result is 100% not on our side.
Arjuna was never sure of victory. Especially when he was standing against great warriors like Bhishma, Dronacharya, Ashwatthama, and others.
Who could believe that Arjuna was capable of defeating them? Or even all of the Pandavas gathered with their army.
Bhsima’s power was such that Krishna was almost willing to give up his oath of not participating in the battle.
All Arjuna had was to fight till the end by using all his strength.
Moral of the story:
Do what you can; do not focus on what you cannot do. The results may or may not be in your favor, but never exit the battlefield without giving a try.
We must worry less about results and rather focus on those things that we can control, that is, your actions; give your best shot.
We agree, it is easy to say this,but difficult to implement in actual practice. There is always constant fear of failure. Fear what people would say? Fear that we will be dejected. Fear that we would end up looking like a fool.
But why give up fear of failure? Today all achievers no matter from which field they come from; each one of them never gave up. Be it Priyanka Chopra, be it Ronaldo, Messi, Virat Kohli, they all never gave up.
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There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.
Paulo Coelho
One of the biggest fears of humankind is the fear of failure. Each and every person on this planet is very scared to fail.
Remember! Success doesn’t come easily, all who have succeeded are avid risk takers.
The Feeling Of Failure
I’ll be honest with you,
It isn’t easy to get there and overtake the fear of failing. I remember my days of being the school head girl. Especially when you have stage fright, it is not easy. You have to give speeches at school events. You stumble on words before 500 students, which will be remembered until next year. You become a laughing stock. Standing on the stage, I sometimes contemplated that maybe I could act like I suddenly feel sick and hand over a written speech to someone who isn’t scared of speaking in public.
But I also remember how rewarding it was when my teachers would tell me after the speech, “I liked your speech. It was a great speech. The choice of words was great.”. Even a pat from my sports teacher was enough to make me feel like I had won Padma Bhushan Award from the President of India.
Symptoms of developing fear of failure
Read this carefully,
There are times when we just don’t work on our goals and we don’t even understand that we have developed this fear of failure which is stopping us from working.
So here are some symptoms of atychiphobia –
- You don't want to try new things and learn new things. You're trying to be happy with whatever you have and distancing yourself from new experiences.
- You're procrastinating at a high level. You have some big goals and you know that you need to work very hard to achieve those but you're still not working. Sometimes it's because you're afraid of failing.
- You're trying to be perfect. You only want to get involved in those activities that you're good at and not in some other activities where you may have to struggle but the end result can be better.
How To Succeed
Remember this,
Failing is a part of the journey. We are in a marathon of life and failures are the obstacles in our way but those are not the ends and only if you understand this you will know how failures actually help you to level up.
People get extremely scared of failing in their life and this extreme dread of failing is known as atychiphobia. It can make you postpone or steer clear of any endeavor or situation that could end badly.
People who have fear of failure are afraid to try new things, take risks, or accept growth.
Beethoven, one of the greatest music composers, was deaf. Everyone told him to quit music. He didn’t pay attention to them. If he had spent time procrastinating over his disability and agreed with others, we would never have such a music composition.
Even everyone kept telling Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, that no one would ever pay more than 50 cents for a coffee. Today, Starbucks is a cultural icon. It is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain.
How To Overcome Fear of Failure
1. Plan it out
What is the worst that can happen? What are all possible outcomes? Sketch them out. Every single situation you can think of. Write it down.
Now, do the math. What is the possibility of that happening? What are the critical aspects of that event occurring? Are you likely to do that key aspect?
Sketch it out. Write it down. Calculate it.
I hate math, but I must admit that its outcomes are pretty accurate. Like Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory says, “The math does not lie, Penny”
Key Takeaway
We must plan and calculate risks involved before we start anything.
2. Break Down Your Goal Into Smaller Parts
My mother taught me this, “When you are scared that you will fumble with a big paragraph, cut it down into smaller lines”
Just like that, apply it to your goal. Break down the big goal into 6-7 smaller goals.
This will help you plan out the whole sequence. Let’s say that your goal is to crack the job interview.
The first goal should be getting just enough food in the morning. The second goal is reaching the venue on time.
The third goal is to keep smiling throughout the interview. The fourth goal is to answer as many questions as you can.
3. Millenials and GenZ are more open any form of Storytelling.
Failure is an essential component of learning when people are mastering a skill or undertaking.
Exploration and creativity are necessary components of learning, and both of these strategies provide the chance to discover both what works and what doesn’t.
We must first attempt to investigate the depths of what knowledge has to offer.
When you accept failure as a learning opportunity rather than a punishment or a sign of weakness, you might see it as a gift.
4. Build Up Self-Confidence
Every morning, give yourself a confidence booster by giving yourself positive self-talk.
Self-talk is one of the most efficient ways of boosting confidence. Write down the lines on a sticky note and put it before the mirror. Speak and repeat them both in the morning and before you go to sleep at night.
“I can achieve what I want. I am strong, and I am independent” This should be the core idea of your positive self-talk.
Read one book a day. It is great for building self-confidence. You learn a lot through others’ experiences as well. So, learn from them and develop your personality.
Believe in yourself. This is very important.
5. Allow Yourself The Space To Fail
“If I fail, I lose everything. It is all or none” This is technically the most toxic thing you can tell yourself.
Do not ever put yourself there. It is crucial to make that space for you to fail. Failure is one step towards learning what does not work.
Walt Disney’s idea to create a themed park was squashed 214 times. Imagine if he gave up. You would never have seen Disneyworld.
Or have the thought to create a themed amusement park. Walt Disney failed 217 times, but that didn’t stop him.
While initially allowing yourself to fail could feel daunting, it can also be liberating.
Think about the worst scenario that may happen if you failed. Would you make it?
You’ll probably find that even though it could be unpleasant, you would survive your worst-case situation and carry on.
6. Understand That There Can Be Setbacks
Setbacks are better than no effort made. It is entirely okay if you have had a setback.
Paulo Coehlo often keeps reinstating, “The secret of life is to fall seven times and stand up eight times”
When you take the courage to do something, it is important that you also learn that there will be times when you will succeed and times when you will also fail, but both are equally important. They are necessary for the journey you will go through.
The Wright Brothers had not made the perfect plane in the first go. They failed several designs several times. But that journey is equally important. It is to teach you that these things do not work. Try a new approach.
Don’t stop because you failed once. Try a new way.
To think positively and then attempt to imagine the worst-case scenarios may seem illogical.
Yet combining the two is a terrific approach to boost self-assurance.
Imagining the worst-case scenario allows you to come up with proactive solutions for handling potentially unpleasant situations.
Make sure to stay realistic as you list down your worst-case scenarios.
Go through the list one situation at a time while concentrating on various approaches to overcoming challenges.
This procedure can reduce your failure-related concerns and improve your understanding of how to deal with difficult circumstances.
Key Takeaway
Accepting setbacks as a part of the process will slowly make you easy about failing. It gives you assurance that you will achieve success.
7. Be Optimistic
Even the most successful people experience failure, despite the fact that our culture is obsessed with success.
Future events cannot be foreseen.
Think about the chance that things go better than you anticipate. It’s up to you to become aware of and recognise triggers for your critical self-talk.
The voice in your head has a significant impact on your actions.
Positive information about you and the situation should be used to counter negative ideas.
You’ll have the ability to write a fresh mental script that you can use whenever you notice negativity encroaching.
8. Life Always Gives Second Chances
Don’t believe the saying that you only get one chance to prove yourself. Life has a way of giving the same number of chances as the number of tries.
So, keep trying. You will hundred percent find more and more opportunities to succeed.
Do not give up if you feel strongly about this thing you are trying for. You will get many good enough chances in future.
You will succeed. Maybe you can become the next cultural icon.
One of the greatest Presidents of the United States said, “Those to dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
9. Recognize the learnings from past failures
Even if you don’t immediately notice them, many unfavorable events have hidden advantages.
Examine your past transgressions and how they affected you.
Perhaps a humiliating error or a missed deadline improved your attention to detail or efficiency.
Even though these situations may have been painful, you persisted. You were able to learn from those failures, and you can do the same with future ones.
10. Talk with someone
Talking to someone we know and trust when we’re scared is one of the best things we can do. This person might be your spouse, pastor, friend, or mentor.
We frequently become mired in our own thoughts about our goals and aspirations. We feel stuck when the feeling of overload begins to set in.
But, there’s something about talking out your anxiety that makes it less frightening. Also, if you’re being honest with someone you love and trust, you’ll get some insightful guidance on what to do next.
11. Treat yourself kindly
Do not make fun of your anxieties; they exist for a cause. Work through your fears while being kind and understanding to yourself.
The better you can deal with your worries, the more you will understand why you have them and what triggers them.
Clearly express your anxieties in writing. Don’t be hesitant to investigate the specifics of your fears. Recognize that you are a product of these worries.
You can recover control over your worries by accepting them.
12. Have a second option
Having a fallback strategy never hurts. When the worst has happened, looking for a solution quickly is the last thing you want to do.
You are more likely to move forward and take reasonable risks if you have a backup plan.
Maybe you’ve submitted a grant application to get money for a project at work.
Are there alternative means of obtaining the funds in the worst-case situation, if you are not awarded the grant?
Having a backup strategy is a fantastic method to ease concern about potential failure because there are typically several ways to approach a problem.
13. Don't run for perfection
We usually fail to start when we frequently avoid things because we want them to be perfect.
It’s not necessary to keep moving in the same direction just because we started our journey from there itself. You are not helpless. You can think of a fresh idea if it doesn’t work. You have the power to pause, start over, alter your course, and change. Start right away, and even if it’s not ideal, keep in mind that you can always go back and make changes.
Final Thoughts
In a nutshell:
I know. The fear of failure keeps you holding back from your true potential, but it’s okay. There is also grandeur in failing after you have given it yourself. Choose loss over regret that you never tried. Give it your best shot. Take a leap.
You, little birdie, will not learn how to fly until you have learned to let go of the fear that you might not be able to fly.
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