Has fear of failure meant that you've missed out on doing things that you really wanted to or stopped you achieving your goals? Napoleon Bonaparte said 'He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat'.
Don't miss out on any more opportunities simply because you MIGHT fail...
chances are you won't and you'll have more success under your belt instead.
Failure means different things to different people; what one person sees as failing, another person sees as a great learning opportunity.
When I was teaching in primary school, my head teacher once said ' We never fail, we simply learn from the experience and move forward.
' Wise words indeed.
We all experience 'failure' at some time in our lives and the great thing is, we get to choose how we view it.
Failure isn't a concrete thing, it's a belief in our mind, a figment of our imagination, something generated from within.
Remember, tiny steps will add up.
If you're afraid of speaking in public, then having to speak in front of 100 people will be overwhelming, so start small and organise a very small group meeting.
Once confidence starts to grow and you have some successes, the fear of failure diminishes and you are able to move forward.
Prepare well for the event so that you are as much in control as possible.
You may want to take part in sport...
perhaps a fun run, but fear you might come last.
But so what? Someone has to and you're not going to be hurt because of it.
You've just had all the fun of taking part.
Many negative feelings go hand in hand: disappointment; anger; frustration; sadness; regret.
Fear of failing is often related to what other people think of you and if you expect to fail you may well tell other people, so that they lower their expectations of you.
Words we use are so powerful to our mind.
'I don't think I can do it.
' 'I'm going to try, but I know I'll fail.
' 'Things like that don't happen to me.
' Physical symptoms may also accompany the fears, perhaps a headache or stomach ache.
You might avoid preparing well or do inappropriate tasks that get in the way because then you have a ready made excuse for failing.
That's exactly what I did years ago when studying for my A levels at school.
I was so scared of failing them that my fear prevented me from doing the work.
It was a self destruct button.
In my mind I wasn't clever enough, yet years later I managed to achieve my honours degree in psychology.
Stop for a moment and imagine just what you would like to do if you had no fear of failure.
What an amazing list you could conjure up.
Now take one thing from your list and think what the absolute worst thing that could happen would be if you fail? Then imagine if that happened.
You'd come through it and get on with your life.
Right? It's highly unlikely that the very worst thing is going to happen so work back to what realistically could happen and imagine that.
The fear should seem less because the outcome is not as bad.
Right? Tackle parts of the task that you are in control of and then brainstorm the rest to see how you can take control.
Sometimes we don't have to have all the answers at once, but other people may have and by talking to them, or networking, the solutions can be found.
The biggest mistake you can ever make is being too afraid to make one.
You have one life and this is it.
It's not a dress rehearsal.