The Inspire blog

One of the best quotes I’ve read on the internet is from Arianna Huffington “Failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of success” short and beautiful.

Your perspective towards trying and failing determines your next move. Fear of failure or imperfection is letting fear stop us from achieving our goals and can lead to regret, depression, and low self-esteem.

Fear of failure causes a lot of harm and here are 5 signs you may be afraid of failure:

1. You worry too much about what others think of you      

This kind of feeling prevents you from even trying new things or taking on challenges. A lot of times, people worry too much about what others would say or think about their actions and you feel ashamed when you fail, which makes you feel bad about who you are. But, you should always remember that making no attempt is the Real Failure. It might keep you safe, but you remain small.

2. Your expectations are unrealistic

Let’s face it, nobody wants to fail, but at some point in time, we all do while trying and stop trying again. You often expect to get it right at the first attempt and when you don’t, you tag it ‘a failure’. Overnight successes we see around us and on media took years of hard work or dedication plus, no success comes without failure.

3. You must be ‘Perfect’

  Some of us believe there is no room for mistakes, and would rather not try than look stupid or be embarrassed because of failing; thus are afraid of failure. You should note that failure is experiences and lessons that help you perfect your works. Thinking like a perfectionist would deprive you of the self-realization and examination that comes because of learning from failures. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn, but if you fail to try and learn from it, you fail totally!

4. You frequently compare yourself with others

You avoid any situation where you feel you won’t succeed. You measure yourself by comparing your achievements with others and slowly you reduce your self-esteem. You have troubles imagining you could do things differently or as well as other people. Let’s face it, no matter how strong, rich or smart you think you are, there would always be someone better, so do yourself good by setting your own goals and outlining success for yourself.

5. You’re comfortable

Fear of failure keeps you from setting new goals and makes you prefer your comfort zone of mediocrity to the life-enhancing process of trying and failing. Fear of failure makes your goals intimidate you, keeps you unmotivated and unconcerned. Where others derive motivation from their failed projects, you see yours as an excuse to limit yourself, procrastinate, and settle for what you have.

Overcoming Fear of Failure

Here are some tips on how to overcome fear and keep being motivated:

You’re Human 

Don’t be too hard on yourself anytime you try but fail, remember failure is short-lived. When you fail at something, your worry is about who you are, not your actions. As humans, mistakes are inevitable but, it is more important how you stand up after failure, not how you failed.

Failure is not a weakness

You’re not a failure! Failure is not an attribute nor a flaw, it is a part of success. Each failure is a step towards success. ‘Our weakness is not in failing, but in the fear of failing’

Failure has benefits

Failure strengthens you, makes you humble, and gives you a deeper understanding of yourself. Failure isn’t fun, but it helps you achieve your goals and reach your full potential. They say ‘if you aren’t failing, you’re not aiming correctly’.

There are real-life stories about people who failed and succeeded, eventually. Read stories to get inspired and remember, ‘Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure’-Jack Lemmon.

You are the BEST!!! Believe in yourself.

There is no failure, only experiences and phases to learning and development.

Go ahead, fall down. The world looks different from the ground.

Oprah Winfrey