I Can ‘t Handle It! – The Fear Of Failure
More and more people are experiencing the fear of failure – not achieving success and not reaching the top of their work or private lives. Trapped in a “loser’s” state of mind, these people are deprived of the joy of life and the daily challenges it offers.
The way we tackle challenges and difficult situations in life shapes our character and thus our ultimate destiny.
In a new situation that can be risky, for example, we are guaranteed to feel insecure and as if we lack resources if we focus on the fear of failure. However, several studies show that a positive mental attitude is the key to personal success. Let’s take a look at how we can use it.
To be in good mental condition is to feel safe even in the most difficult of situations. What does it mean? It is the way we interpret situations and value what is happening around us, express our feelings and take action.
A winning state of mind is fundamentally based on capacity: the ability to always find a way to elevate meaning in all situations. The question we will ask to tackle every event in our lives will be: how can I reach my goal?
The difference between success and failure is the ability to transform situations into improving resources.
Fear is one of the basic human emotions, but fear of failure and the uncertainty it causes should not block our ability to solve problems.
This is because the path to self-fulfillment is full of failures, but it is precisely these difficult experiences that allow us to experience the most important changes and developments.
The winners in life have one thing in common, and there is no shortage of obstacles and difficulties along the way: they know how to take advantage of every situation to grow, improve and reach a new level.
Fear of failure often leads to avoiding risks, and all too often these people do not even want to discover the limitations of their own abilities. They only want to do the least possible to get an adequate level of well-being and protection.
The psychologist Abraham Maslow stated that “security” is one of man’s basic needs and that it is part of our natural instinct to want to protect and preserve what we have. But be careful, for security can sometimes deceive us: it can limit our choices and, as a consequence, our actions.
To achieve all goals, there must always be a risk. Learning to deal with the fear of failure will give us a higher chance of getting what we want. Every fear is a chance to grow.
In chess, it is said that fear of an attack is always stronger than the attack itself. Our imagination has a greater ability to reinforce the fear of failure.
But fear is also useful: it warns us of dangers. It is not functional when it completely blocks our success towards a specific goal. If we are dominated by the fear of failure, we will probably not be able to act freely and effectively.
Life is waiting for us, and no one else can live it for us. If we really want to change, if we are willing to stop avoiding failures and risks, we can be happy.
We can change our way of thinking and the dysfunctional behaviors that prevent us from achieving our goals. We just have to stop fleeing, get lazy and come up with excuses.
