How to Cope with Fear of Failure

How do you make a decision?
Is fear a factor?
If so, what is driving the fear?
Is it fear of Failure?
Is it fear of Success?
Or is fear of Judgement?

Very often we mask our fear of judgement telling ourselves that we won’t go for that promotion, or change of career or make that lifestyle change for fear of failure but if we were to make that decision in the comfort of our own home and nobody ever heard about it, would we have the same level of fear?

The answer is most probably not.

As humans, we are wired for safety, so when we push outside our comfort zone, put ourselves out there, we are very often be gripped with fear. The fight or flight reaction is triggered and we move into a full stress reaction. This is our nervous system trying to keep us safe since it cannot distinguish between real danger and a perceived danger associated with putting ourselves out there.

As a 12-year old child, I feigned cramps in a 600m race and opted out of the race. ‘Fear of Failure’ gripped me. Many years later having studied Human Behaviour, my light bulb moment came when I realised that my fear of failure was in fact, fear of judgement. What would they all say if I came last in the race?
There have been several races that I have opted out of in my life since that 600m race, but coaching has allowed me to understand that by letting my fear of judgement disempower me, I was giving my power away and living in fear of someone else’s opinion.

Thankfully, I have taken back out my runners and re-entered some of those races and if I do not win, at least I will know that I have given it my best shot.