How to Overcome the Fear of Failure

Fear of failure is normal for most people in the field of business. It is not only entrepreneurs but almost every human being has to be afraid if failing whenever they think of working on something that means the world to them.

It is human nature to be afraid and this is something that one should be ready to handle and work on. When you go outside your comfort zone, you will feel scared. As an entrepreneur, your ego and identity becomes so wrapped up in whatever you may be doing, that when things do not go as per your expectations, you can literally feel like you have reached the end where nothing more can be done.

It’s advisable to use failure to your advantage rather than being afraid of it. Every entrepreneur can use the following tips in overcoming fear of failure:

Identify the cause of your failure

Where does your fear of failure originate? Identifying the root cause is the first step to acknowledging our fear and overcoming it. Try to understand your fear. Coming face to face with your anxiety is the best way to get over our nervousness.

Reframe Your Goals

Reframe failure by shifting your goals.  Expand your goal to include learning something new and you will never technically “fail” because there is always something to be learned.

Once you have identified the cause of your fear, try to focus on your goals. Every time a thought like “I can’t do this because . . .” comes up, try to recalibrate myself, and focus on the small tasks that move you towards your overall goal.

To conquer fear of failure, we must set our mind completely on the outcome that we want to create. The more we can focus on our end game, the more we obliterate pessimism from our mind.

Visualize Obstacles

Positive thinking alone is not enough. Research has shown that the best outcomes are created when we balance positive thinking with visualizing the future obstacles and struggles we will encounter.

Think of a situation in which you are afraid of failure.  Visualize yourself now hitting an obstacle, allow yourself to feel the fear, and then see yourself moving forward.  Next, spend a few minutes planning how to overcome whatever obstacles may stand in your way. Then see yourself succeeding despite these obstacles.

Open up Your Story

When we take failure very personally, we are always associating the failure with a bigger story about ourselves. We are taking the failure to mean “I am not good enough”, “I will never be successful as an entrepreneur”, “My team is awful”, etc.

When you feel very upset about a specific failure, ask yourself this, “what is the belief I have about this situation?”   Try to separate the story from the facts.

Once you uncover the story, notice that it is just that. A story. And see if you can re-write it by creating a more positive response.

Read: How to manage time for success in business

Surrender and Feel the Fear

Many of us allow fear to paralyze us because we don’t feel the fear. But if you simply allow yourself to feel the fear when it shows up, you will notice that it quickly dissipates and suddenly the situation feels more manageable.

The next time you notice yourself getting stressed out or feeling afraid of something not working out, sit quietly by yourself, set your timer for two minutes and start taking deep breaths. Notice where you feel tightness or tension in your body, and simply breathe into that area for the two minutes.  When the timer goes off after two minutes, chances are the feelings will have shifted. The more you do this, the more you will trigger your body’s natural calm response and you will move through fear with greater ease

Acknowledge Avoidance and Focus on Moving forward

Once we shift our mindset from being the victim to being the bold one who wants to achieve their destiny, we have to take action. When we are scared, often we fill our days with busy work to avoid real issues. This avoidance through being busy justifies our lack of progress. To move forward, we must stop spending our valuable time on mundane activities.

Trust your inner Guide

Always trust yourself and your own feeling, as opposed to argumentations, discussions, or introductions of that sort; if it turns out that you are wrong, then the natural growth of your inner life will eventually guide you to other insights. Allow your judgments their own silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened.

In the moments of doubt and fear, trust the guide inside of you. This has the solutions to all your problems. The inner guide is more powerful than any external influence, and has the ability to drive away any fears that may hinder you from achieving your goals.

Article by Vera Shawiza.