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What is one specific example of how you've been able to kick your fear of failure?
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6 Answers
I think you are in denial if you have absolutely no fear of failure.
Even if you are not conscious of it, it creeps into everything you do.
Specifically, what is your fear? Fear of failure is a general term, but is is really something deeper. The only true way to beat it is to face it head on. Try turning to others for support or do your feared activity with others, so you can "fail" together. When you focus on yourself, the fear gets exacerbated.
Catherine, not to be sexist, but (as you can see from the 2 gentlemen's answers above) I think women suffer from this impediment more than men. Beyond the socialization that causes us to take responsibility for everything (!), I like to think it's because we are better listeners and have the ability to think in a non-linear way...so we see more outcomes, not all of which are good (ie., the ones that might result in failure). However, you control your own thoughts. If you fear something, it's usually based on not having enough information. Focus on getting more information--being prepared. For ex., if you're afraid of public speaking because you've never done it before and you don't want to fail at it your first time out, go watch YouTube vids on "fear of public speaking," interview successful speakers, practice in front of supportive friends. Immersion learning into the basis of your fear will give you the familiarity and courage to press on with doing whatever it is you're afraid of.
A healthy fear of failure is not a curse. That is what drives us to do more comprehensive planning, more thorough risk assessments, etc. that directly leads to an improved chance of success.
Mike
I'm not sure I understand the question. Why should anyone have a fear of failure to begin with? One will never take a risk if one is concerned about the possibility failure, and risk is essential to success in the first place. So, really, one should ignore the possibility of failure in most cases - failure is not an option! And, if one does fail, learn from the experience and get back on the horse!
Fear of failure is something everyone has encountered. To be completely honest, I have a certain fear of failure every time I leave my comfort zone and try something entirely new-- which I try to do often. Men and women may have different names for this fear (men are more likely to call it "caution" or something similar), but regardless how we name it, it is the force that drives us to plan carefully and exercise an element of caution in how we proceed.
I submit that we don't "overcome" it. Rather we learn to use it as a tool to take our risks in a responsible and calculated manner.
Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com
I think if given the choice, all of us would happily avoid failure. However, if life has taught us anything, failure is unavoidable, but you can mitigate it. As to what causes failure, it's external factors, our own decision-making, and any combination of those.
It's not that you fail. You're gonna fail in life at some point. It's what you do with it after the smoke clears. If you learn from it (as many of the titans of history that have walked this planet have), or you can feel sorry for yourself, thus dooming yourself to failure again. You can't kick the fear of failure, but you can determine whether the consequences of failure will benefit you or not.
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