Fear of failure is a common thing that everyone experienced at least once. Being vulnerable in front of other people, making a mistake and being laughed at are not things that people enjoy. But the thing is, you cannot avoid situations that make you uncomfortable all the time: this limits your life very much, the inability to take risks.
Here are some strategies on how to overcome the fear of failure:
- Define your fear – what exactly are you afraid of? What worries you the most in these kind of situations?
2. Reshape failure – what does failure mean to you? You might want a healthier definition to failure: a valuable lesson.
3. Envision success – this is the complete opposite of overthinking what can go wrong. Try to see yourself succeeding and focus on that feeling.
4. Consider the worst scenario – are you able to handle it? Of course!
5. Remember your previous difficult situations – were you able to overcome them? How did you manage to?
6. Expand your comfort zone – it may become very uncomfortable to be followed by a constant feeling of fear. But the negative emotions are just suggestions, you have the power to choose how to respond.
7. Start small – make baby steps, in order to see how comfortable you are with changes.
8. Take into account what will happen if you let your fear run you – you will remember it, maybe, with a bitter taste and a little ‘’what if’’. Don’t let that in your way.
It’s perfectly fine to be afraid and even to fail. But don’t let this take you out of the game.