New Years Resolutions - Overcoming a fear of failure

During January people often make New Years Resolutions with the aim of enhancing our lives. These resolutions can include weightloss, financial stability, improving health and relationships. Most people self-limit themselves and therefore do not achieve a fraction of what they are capable of achieving because they are too afraid to try. This is because they are anxious they might fail. However, if we can alter our perception and beliefs connected to failure and view it as a learning experience, we can indeed overcome the fear associated with failure itself.

Start by taking a few steps to overcome your fear of failure and move forward to becoming a better version of yourself.

Step 1: Don’t take failure personally

Failure isn’t personal nor is it a personality trait. Failure is about behaviour, outcomes and results. When an action you’ve taken does not give you the result you desired, it does not mean that YOU are a failure, but rather that the action taken was unsuccessful. Learn from that mistake and alter it. You can then move forward towards achieving your goal.

Step 2: Do things differently

If what you are doing isn’t working, do something else. There is an old saying “if you always do what you’ve always done you will always get what you always got”. If you are not getting the results you want, then make a change and do something differently. Most people stop doing anything at all and this will guarantee they won’t be successful in making the change they desire but a small change may bring you a step closer to achieving your goal.

Step 3: Don’t be so hard on yourself

Hey, if nothing else, you’ve learned what doesn’t work, cross it off your list and move on. Failure is a judgement or evaluation of behaviour. Look at failure as an event or happening, not as a physical being - you are not a failure.

Step 4: Treat the experience as an opportunity to learn

Think of failure as a learning experience. What did you learn from the experience that will help you in the future? How can you use the experience to improve yourself or your situation? Ask yourself these questions:

1. What was the mistake?

2. Why did it happen?

3. How could it have been prevented?

4. How can I do better next time?

Then use what you learned from the experience to do things differently so you get better results next time. Learn from the experience.

Final Note

Understanding that failure isn’t a personality trait or a reflection of yourself, it can have a positive effect on the way we view negative outcomes. Failure is about behaviours, outcomes and results. If you’re not getting the results you want, then it is time to do something differently. Remember that if you stop doing things altogether this will guarantee you won’t get any results at all. Learn from your behaviour and alter accordingly. Positive changes will move you forward to a more positive future and closer to achieving your goals.

“Don’t do what you’ve always done, Get outcomes you’ve always wanted”