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“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the dear of failure” — Paulo Coelho

Every once in a while, I go through these bouts of self doubt, so called “fear” of what will happen if I do something. It’s common. I am sure you have felt the same at some point of your life. And I am not saying that by writing down this blog, I have perfected myself, to not feel so. I know I will feel like this. But, by writing this, I know that I am cognizant of this emotion, and when it does happen, I will allow myself time, and skills to address it.

Through this post, I want to highlight what this dear of failure is, and how I try to respond to it. Hope it helps! Happy reading.

When I start to work on something I am not familiar with, I go into this vicious cycle of trying to think of the possible results in my head, without actually implementing anything. As a result, I end up shooting down any action that I could take up on the same. This happens, because, in my head, nothing works, as a result, nothing is tried. While I was working in the “corporate world”, there was a leadership principle — “Insist on highest standards”. I feel that I have indexed on this so much, that I have forgotten about the other leadership principle — “Bias for Action”. (You must be thinking, Been there, done that). Now, I will let you in on another secret. Personally, I index more on “Insist on Highest standards”, because of the fear of failure. It’s as simple as that. Take a backseat, and think about it! Once you realize this, bias for action will automatically kick in!

Another incident — 

when I start to work on something, that has already been worked upon by someone more experienced, there is a fear of not living up to the standards that have been set. In this mindset, I lose sight of the possibility, that, maybe, instead of living up to the standards set, there is a possibility of lifting the standards higher. When we try to mend something that’s working in a certain fashion, be rest assured, things will break. We just need to remember to find a way to fix it, once it breaks. But, why should I break something that’s fixed? Maybe, times have evolved, and with that, the thing needs to evolve?

Fear of failure also leads to procrastination, and this results in us, cutting ourselves off from work, and anything else, where we know, we need to contribute, but we don’t

There are always 100s of tasks on my to-do list. At times, it gets so overwhelming, that I stop maintaining a to-do list! But, that’s not healthy. We need to remind ourselves, that our to-do lists will only grow with time. That’s because we are evolving and expanding our capacity and capability. This is very common with all of us, especially at our workplaces. We should rather, be cognizant of the emotion that “I will work on how much my capacity permits me to do today, maybe over index on it, one day at a time. However, when I leave work, or when I make an effort to go out with friends and family, I will consciously turn my work mode off, and enjoy the moment.”

Why does this happen? There can be multiple reasons. It is for you to dig deep and find out. For me, the major reasons for these are —

1. Fear of failure when I start something new
2. Fear of failure when I try to improve upon something
3. Restlessness when I see that my to-do list is expanding, rather than contracting even after giving my 100% to the list on a day

On the third point, I would like to highlight, that it is important we give ourselves a break, every once a while, when we truly disengage from what’s bothering us, only to re-charge our batteries. The challenge happens, when we think we have disengaged, but are still engaged with our thoughts on what’s bothering. Every thought, every emotion, deserves our time and mindspace. Even the troubling ones. Know the limit and point, beyond which, you shouldn’t entertain such thoughts. More on this thought in my eventual articles.

Hope this article helped. Please give yourself a couple of minutes, to try and relate to such emotions in your personal life, and, if you feel it helps, share your thoughts!!