Lately I have been thinking a lot about the fear of failure and how it holds me {and probably a lot of you} back.
A nagging feeling of doubt can often be the universe's way of saying no. But it can also be our own insecurities creeping in and allowing us to make excuses.
I saw this quote recently and it really made me think.
Too often I let my little fears and insecurities stand in the way of just doing something.
I am not one who spends a lot of time on a decision. I would rather pull the trigger and get on with things than to spend days or even weeks dwelling. Dwelling can be so exhausting.
Whenever I am having doubts, I like to mentally go through these a few steps to determine if my doubt is real...or if I am just afraid.
1. I ask myself "what's the worst that can happen?" I would never bungee jump or sky dive because I fear dying. My fear of jumping out of a plane or off a bridge is completely understandable, but being scared to sign up for a holiday show....now that's just irrational. And coated in my fear of failure.
If I sign up for a big show that intimidates me and I don't sell one thing, waste my time and money, and feel defeated that would be pretty awful. Would I survive? Would I bounce back? Would I be able to go on? The answer to all those questions is yes. And I would probably learn something. The goal is to earn something but learning is important in the big scheme of things.
2. I ask myself "what is the value in it?" Going back to my sky diving/bungee jumping analogy, I see no value in that. Now doing that show that intimidates me, well there is value in that. Value in both dollars earned, business promotion, and lessons that can only be learned through experiences.
3. I ask myself "what's the best possible thing that can happen?" Focusing on the best possible situation is a lot more fun that focusing on the worst possible situation. Not only is daydreaming and talking about the best thing fun it is also a confidence booster.
I tend to have a little faith in the whole "think it and it will happen" thing. The more I can focus on the positive, rather than the negative, the better things usually end up.
Do you guys suffer from fear of failure? How do you get yourself to move past it and just get on with things?
Hi Gina I just wanted to say THANK YOU for writing this. I'm in the process of launching my own Etsy shop and I'm beyond terrified, and I know that what's prohibited me from getting it running sooner was fear. What if no one else loves (or worse, likes) what I am creating? It's awful to think about. THINK. Like you said. I've been doing waaay too much of it these past several months.
ReplyDeleteI'm finally taking the leap.
that's awesome corinne! just go for it. I have written a lot of other posts on starting small biz. click the tag "handmade 101" for more ;). thanks for stopping by!
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