Overcoming Your Fear of Failure
Many people are too afraid of failing that they do not bother trying. This fear can cause someone to have panic attacks where they have trouble breathing, a lot of sweating, shaking, increased heart rate, and feeling light-headed. It is important to understand that we all do not get everything right the first time we try something and to not let it get in the way of our hopes and dreams.
When it comes to mastering a new skill, failure is necessary in order to learn. Learning involves exploring what works and what does not work. For what does not work, see what you can do to improve yourself in small steps. Failure does not say anything about you as a person or that every time you try something that you will always fail at it. It just means you need more improvement. For example, Sylvester Stallone’s script for Rocky was rejected several times until it was finally picked up by United Artist studios and now it is considered one of the best sports films.
Some goals and dreams are too big to try to achieve in one instance so you should make smaller goals to help you get to your big one. For example, if your dream is to be an actress, do not base your whole big break on one audition but go on several auditions and see what happens as well as taking acting classes to master the craft. Instead of beating yourself up when you fail and being your own critic, treat yourself the way you would try a loved one who feels the same way- with compassion and understanding that we all make mistakes.
Try writing down what you are trying to accomplish by writing what has worked, what has not worked, and what you can do to make it work even if it means taking more classes or trying a different approach. To make yourself at ease, you can also write down what the worst-case scenario would be for each attempt so that the outcome does not come as a surprise to you and what to do if that scenario approaches. Perfectionism can cause anxiety, depression, and developing an eating disorder. It is important to set healthy standards and to accept that they might not be met in the way that you expected but giving up will not help you accomplish your dreams.
