What lays between “What if” and “Let’s do it!”
FEAR. That’s what. Fear paralyzes us, stops us from doing what we most want to do.
It is the voice telling you “you can’t, you shouldn’t, you won’t”.
Fear is the difference between those with regrets and those with experiences.
Do you want to learn how to overcome fear of failure in life? Well, here are some tips for you.
Use your imagination.
Fear is a learnt behaviour, a story we tell ourselves….and if we’ve told ourselves something can’t be done or won’t work, we can tell ourselves it will, right? So, the first step will be to imagine what would happen if you did what you’re scared of doing, imagine yourself succeeding and allow yourself to see what it feels like.
Take steps.
One doesn’t run without walking first, and overcoming fear works the same way. To do big scary things you have to practice with small scary ones. Do one thing that challenges you, whether this is smiling back at the barista that knows your coffee order or signing up for that fitness class you keep going on about. Make this a habit and try one scary thing a day, it will teach your brain to accept scary things as the norm, so over time, even though it will still scare you, it won’t paralyze you.
Learn.
Look back at all the things you’ve done, all that you have achieved. Sure, some things felt scary back then, yet you did them anyway and it’s fair to say you succeeded at them. What can you learn from them? What happened then and what needs to happen now?
Ask.
It’s one thing trying to tell ourselves how good we are, but when we hear it from others our perception changes; it becomes more tangible and this gives us the confidence to encourage us to try. So enlist the help of family and friends, get them to highlight your good points to give you the courage to do it.
Focus on the end goal, on the why.
Why do you want to do this? Why are you afraid? Probably because you care, because it matters, and it is precisely because of this that you must give yourself a chance. The road ahead might be bumpy, but what matters is the final destination.
We are not perfect, we have all been there.
Most of us have done things we were scared of doing and failed at them, and that’s ok. As Edison said
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Thus, dust yourself off, get back on your feet and keep on trying.
Do it because you deserve it because you owe it to yourself because life is too short to live between “what ifs”, because one morning you will wake up and realise you’ve wasted your time and, funnily enough, you no longer have plenty left.
You may fail, you may succeed but you will always, always, learn from it and thank yourself for having listened to your heart, rather than your head.
And the good news is you don’t have to do it alone. So, shall we talk about where you could be without fear?
