The Fear of Failure has been known to douse the dreams of many aspiring online business owners…it cripples them into not doing anything, instead of doing the hard work that is necessary to becoming successful.
The Fear of Failure (which is medically called ‘Atychiphobia’) is when a person let’s fear stop them from doing the things that will help them achieve success or goals.
Underlying causes are the fear of being embarrassed or shamed…looking or feeling dumb…or even trying to be perfect because that’s the only way you feel you can achieve success.
Some psychologists suggest, if this irrational behavior is persistent in everything you do, there could be deeply rooted mood or anxiety disorder.
But, with that being said, Atychiphobia is a common thing. All of us have experienced it one time or another in our lifetime. I know I have. If you’re one of those people who feel like you don’t know if this is a problem I’m going to give you…
Five Signs You Might Fear to Fail
If you can’t tell between a little nervousness about a business venture and the all out crippling affect of fear of failing , let me give you five signs that can help you acknowledge that you have this problem… so you can take the steps to overcoming it.
1 Do you worry about what other people think. Are you running your business strickly off the approval of others?
2 You constantly worry if you’re smart or capable enough to succeed.
3 Once you do fail at something…do you harp over it and never stop to think of what you could’ve done differently?
4 Are you a constant procrastinator who uses excuses when you fail?
5 Do you drop projects the minute things get difficult?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may have a problem of fearing you’re going to fail, everytime you think about starting a business venture.
As stated earlier, everybody fails at things in their lifetime. But the successful ones don’t let their set-backs stop them from succeeding. Take for instance, did you know basketball great Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team the first year he went out for them? He has also been quoted saying, ” For everytime you see me succeed, I’ve failed a 100 times”. And Thomas Edison failed at thousands of inventions before he struck gold.
The point I’m making is, these great men-like millions of others- didn’t let failure stop them from succeeding…and you shouldn’t either.
Fear of failure feeds procrastination. It tells you…you’re not good enough…now is not the right time…I’m not ready yet. These are the small voices inside your head that stop you in you tracks, allow you to let distractions get in the way, and worse yet, make you give up.
Before we go on, let’s talk about the worst affect resulting from fearing to fail.
Procrastination
Fear of failure feeds procrastination. It desguises itself by telling you, I’m not ready yet…now is not the right time…I’m not good enough.
Procrastination can play a devastating role in destroying your dreams. For one thing…
You Lose Time: We are all given the same amount of time each day…which is 24 hours. How you use that time, determines if you’ll be successful in the future or not. The worse thing an aspiring entrepreneur can do is not make the time given to them count. Whatever you do today will affect what tomorrow’s outcome will be. You’re in the position you’re in today ( whether it’s good or bad), because of the decisions you’ve made in the past.
You deserve to make your dreams come true…procrastinating will never get you there.
Let’s Opportunities Get Away: When you procrastinate, you let opportunities by-laws you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard older people say how the regret letting great opportunities get by them due to procrastination. There are probably some instances where you’d like to kick yourself in the rear-end because procrastination caused you to miss-out on a great opportunity.
You have to come to the understanding that there’s opportunities all around us…but the GREAT ONES normally come around just once. Does investing in Microsoft or Apple in their infancy ring a bell. Do yourself and your family a favor, be ready to bounce on great opportunities when they present themselves.
Creates Low Self-esteem: Procrastination reinforces low self-esteem. It also makes it even lower. As stated earlier, that small voice tells you “Why can’t I do this?” “What’s wrong with me?” This is where the excuses begin…”If only I had the right backing”, “I didn’t have it as good as other people”. And slowly but surely your confidence erodes away to nothing. You’ll never be anything because of your circumstances.
You Make Bad Decisions: Procrastination leads to the pressure of having to make up for lost time. This can lead to bad decision making.
You can also find yourself jumping from one shining object to another thinking it’s an easier route. When you should stick with what could be a great opportunity if you would just work hard at making it happen.
The bottom line is, procrastination is a dream killer, it suffocates you goals. And the first thing you can do to eliminate procrastination is to eliminate your fear of failure. But how do you do it?
How do You Break the Fear of Failure Syndrome?
I once suffered from this syndrom…but my walk with GOD has made me overcome it. Here are a couple of verses that I’ve embetted in my heart to help me. I constantly remind myself…
“GOD hasn’t given us the spirit of fear”
“I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me”
I don’t know how your faith is, but these and a number o hif other verses from the word of GOD has done wonders for me. It could also work for you.
With that being said, here are other ways to overcome the fearr of failure.
Visualize Obstacles: There’s an old saying that goes like this. Expect the Best but Prepare for the Worse. Nothing can beat preparedness. If you can visualize everything that could go wrong in your business venture, you’ll be that much more prepared for it when it happens. Even if it’s something you didn’t visualize, you’ll be in the state- of- mind to handle it. Come to the realization that nothing you do that’s worth something will go smooth. There’s always going to be bumps in the road when you’re creating something special. It’s a part of life and it’s something you’ll have to be able to deal with.
Change Your Belief System: Don’t take it personal. We so often beat ourselves up when it comes to failing. We let that small voice creep in, ” I’m never going to be successful”…”I’m just one big FAILURE”. Pick yourself up and dust yourself off and never mention your failure again. Successful people have a short memory when it comes to failing.
Use It As a Learning Experience: Use your failures as a learning experience. Thomas Edison once said about one of his failed inventions…” I may not know how to make it work, but I surely know what not to do”. Don’t fool yourself into thinking great people always get it right the first time. Some of the greatest inventions in the world came to be through trial and error. When you fail, ask yourself these questions…
1 What did I learn from this?
2 What could I have done different?
3 Can I find a new opportunity from this situation?
4 How can I grow from it ( hint: you know what didn’t work.)
Learn to embrace failure because it’s just a step closer to success.
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Until next time GOD BLESS, and be safe.
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