As a solopreneur, I’ve faced my fair share of fear. My identity is often so tied to what I do, that when things don’t go as planned I can shut down or derail completely. Managing this fear, has been pivotal to not only taking risks within my life, but also in fostering a sense of confidence and authority over my life.
Fear is part of human nature, making the fear of failure something that most of us have had to navigate as we seek success in our lives. Whether it’s in relationships or at work, fear can keep us deeply rooted in patterns of behavior that are doing anything but moving us in the direction of our dreams.
What Does A Fear Of Failure Look Like
No one enjoys failing. That’s ok, it’s normal.
But our fear of failure can be so strong that avoiding any risk of failure obscures the drive to succeed. What’s not ok is when your insecurity directs your behaviour and you subconsciously sabotage your chance for success.
So what’s the impact of holding a fear of failure?
If the following characteristics are VERY indicative of how you operate within your life, you may want to consider examining what failure means to you.
- You worry about what other people think about you.
- You worry about your ability to create the future you desire.
- Failing makes you worry about how smart or capable you are.
- You have low expectations for yourself.
- You preoccupy yourself with tasks to make your work perfect, often sabotaging productivity or other tasks that are more important.
- Failing makes you worry about disappointing people whose opinions you value.
- You tend to tell people beforehand that you don’t expect to succeed in order to lower their expectations.
- Once you fail at something, you have trouble learning and moving on from that failure.
- You often get last-minute headaches, stomach aches, or other physical symptoms that prevent you from preparing.
- You often get distracted or procrastinate which prevents you from completing your work.
- You feel shame when you fail.
