Don’t let the fear of failure sabotage your success

Are you ready to stop making excuses?  Is it time to get out of your own way and overcome the fear of failure to achieve success?  Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Or exhausted by the energy you’re wasting that doesn’t seem to be moving you in the right direction? Don’t lose hope, try applying these 6 simple strategies to overcome the fear of failure and strive for success.

Trust me… I’m right there with you on so many levels.  It’s funny how life keeps giving us the opportunity to improve and break through the barriers that have been holding us back.  I actually planned to write this 6 months ago, even made my outline, and somehow, it’s just today that I’m finally getting around to doing it.  Hmmm, guess this just shows that I’m human too!  And points out yet again that the topic of FEAR, and fear of failure is a biggie for me.

As I’m sharing my thoughts with you, I’m soaking in the success principles right along with you. Even though somewhere deep inside, we probably know exactly what we need to do to reach our goals, fear can sometimes block our progress.   Once we realize it’s happening, we’ve got a choice, let it stop us, or face our fears and do it anyway. 

Today, I’m in the zone of facing my fears, I hope you’ll join me and lets have a breakthrough on our journey to wellness success.

As I’m writing this I’m googling Thomas Edison. Seriously, if you need a swift kick in the butt, start reading some of Edison’s quotes!  Clearly to Edison, failure wasn’t failure, instead it was one step closer to a solution that worked.  It took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries to invent the light bulb.  Have you made 10,000 (or more) whole-hearted efforts to reach one of your goals?  And his comments when asked about the struggle to do it, “I never failed once.  It just happened to be a 2000 step process. I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  While I might be mashing a few quotes together, I’m hoping you get it.  Here’s another thought from Edison, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”  And how about this little gem, “Vision without execution is hallucination.”

OK now, are you gaining a few insights into why (in the past), you haven’t quite achieved success?  Whether it’s on the health and fitness front, diet and nutrition, or life goals; did you try once or twice and give up?  Or just think about doing something but not take action?  We need to learn how to look at every possible roadblock as an opportunity to create a new way to move forward.  Just because the first thing we did, didn’t work as “planned” doesn’t mean there isn’t another way.  This happens to me all the time when my husband is helping me with a tech issue on my computer.  His way of navigating and mine are very different!  Granted some of his click paths are quicker, but mine work just as well.  Here’s the point, it doesn’t matter what path you take, as long as you’re clicking along.

Scenarios, Strategies, and Solutions.  I have a dear friend, Mike Rayburn, who is an amazing musician and motivational speaker.  He asks the question “What IF?” to his audiences.  And it’s a great question!  What IF you were healthier?  How would it look?  How would you feel?  What would you be able to do that you can’t do right now?  You can ask the question “What IF” and put anything that’s meaningful for your brain to explore, to look at scenarios, strategies, and solutions.

I like to think positively, but if you spun this question around and asked, “What if I had a major heart attack?” (Or experienced a serious injury, or accident.) What would my life be like?  How would it impact me physically, emotionally, financially?  How would it affect my family, my ability to work, play, and enjoy a healthy and active life?  This might not be a “What if” question for you, you may have already experienced something that landed you in a crappy-life scenario.  If so, how is it, and do you want to stay there?

You may discover that looking at things from a negative perspective and visualizing the possible not-so-pretty scenarios will motivate you to find better strategies and solutions to overcome the fear of failure and keep striving for success.

Open your brain to the possibility that you can always work to improve your life and circumstances.

Share your fears and develop a support system to help lift you up so you’re not “facing your fears” alone.  Of course we have to know who to blurt out this very sensitive personal information to, but even when we inadvertently express our fears to the wrong people, there is personal power in stating that we’re working thru a challenge, because it supports our brain power to work, think, and act differently. 

A year or two ago, I had the chance to spend a weekend at Banning Mills where they have the world’s longest zip line course.  Let me just express that I was not thrilled to go on this adventure.  I have an extreme fear of heights and lots of personal reasons to prefer keeping my feet on the ground instead of dangling from a little metal hook and steel cable 20-200+ feet in the air!  But I showed up, I suited up, and I survived.

Was it the best day of my life – not really, but I did it.  Yes there were brief moments of fun, and a whole lot of moments of sheer terror.  While everybody else was laughing, chatting and zipping along, I was white-knuckled, gritting my teeth, taking lots of deep breaths, and 100% focused on every step I took between tree branches.  It might have been the longest day of my life.  Would I do it again?  Maybe…

The friends we went with were daredevil/adrenaline rush junkies.  When I commented that because of my life-long battle with depression and suicidal thoughts I could see no good reason to put myself at risk for actually “killing myself” because I work too hard on a daily basis to stay present and enjoy life.  My comment was an eye-opener for both of us.  I never really put into words why I don’t like high-speed, crazy, or dangerous activities so I got a better understanding of the choices I make with sports and recreational activities that are fun and meaningful to me. And my daredevil friends, who never gave a thought to why everybody wouldn’t want to be just like them, got to look at the world from a different perspective.  I got respect and admiration for showing up and playing, and that meant the world to me in emotional support for my moment of overcoming my little fear of heights and high-speed terror.  I believe that there is more support and assistance available to us than we probably realize.  Speak up and find out who is in your corner to help you get thru the sticky spots in life.

The power of positive thinking can go a very long way to helping us break thru barriers, overcome the fear of failure, and reach our goals.

Finish this sentence as many different ways as you can, with a positive word:

“I am _____________________.”

I am strong, I am thin, I am healthy, I am fit, I am capable, I am smart, I am creative, I am resourceful, I am beautiful, I am worthy…  What positive thoughts and words can you feed your brain to boost belief in yourself and your ability to take action to strive for success. 

Here’s a thought to spur you on — from the father of positive thinking, Norman Vincent Peale:

 “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” 

What do you want or need to change, to overcome your fears?

It’s time to take ACTION!  “Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence.  Inaction is not only the result, but the cause of fear.  Perhaps the action you take will be successful: perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow.  But any action is better than no action at all.”  — Norman Vincent Peale.

To Summarize these 6 Simple Strategies to Overcome the Fear of Failure and Strive for Success

1. Don’t let fear get in the way of looking for the next possible solution. Keep in mind the brilliant thoughts from Thomas Edison about failing your way to success! It’s important to keep failing forward until we achieve success.
2. Remember that every roadblock is an opportunity to create a new way to move forward.
3. “What IF?” Use your brain power to analyze scenarios, strategies, and solutions.
4. Share your fears and develop a support system to help carry you forward.
5. There is POWER in positive thinking! “Change your thoughts, and change your world.”  Norman Vincent Peale.
6. Take ACTION. Action will build your confidence, and ensure that you are moving forward to overcome your fears and achieve success!