Don’t Fear Failure, Learn From It

Fear: a strenuous and time consuming emotion. Fear seldom leads us to a place of security and productivity.

Failure: a disappointing and frustrating outcome. Failure can lead to feeling ashamed or regretful.

Fear and failure; two sides of the same coin? Although they often go hand in hand, emotionally defaulting to fear as a means of avoiding failure is a choice that requires adjusting the lens through which we look at each.

You will attempt more when you don’t limit yourself.

Throwing yourself into interests full force can serve to quite the little voice in the back of your head that insists on anticipating a failed outcome. Limiting your participation may feel safe but it prevents you from being fully present in your experiences. A life where you are present and without emotional limits is freeing and more importantly; it’s inspiring. So instead of hosting fear and failure, learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Over time, uncomfortable feelings subside and you become your own source of inspiration.

You will find a new kind of confidence.

The fear of failing causes you to second guess everything about yourself; “Am I smart enough? Pretty enough? Athletic enough?” These questions serve absolutely no purpose so let them go and get into the action of reminding yourself that you are making a choice and are in control of the direction your life will take. Soon enough, you’ll realize just how capable and in control you really are. The late Carrie Fisher was credited with saying “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”

You will learn and you will grow.

It is okay to fail, in fact you need to fail and more than once. It’s not the failure that matters, it’s the growth. Right or wrong, you will always grow from your experiences in life. Prevention of failure won’t lead to success but trial and error certainly will. Challenge yourself to unlearn the traditional restrictive concept of failure and encourage your first response to a new experience to be “I can do this”, rather than “what if I don’t succeed”.

No matter how hard it is to begin to live life without the fears and anxieties of the future, the sooner you do, the sooner you will be unbound and set free. Wake up in the morning and instead of worrying about or stressing over your mental To Do list instead empower yourself by asking “What will I accomplish today if I live without the fear of failure.”