FitVision – led by Mark O’Reilly builds strategies, systems, and processes to help you create a healthier, happier and more productive workforce.
Today on the blog FitVision are chatting about the ‘Fear of Failure’. In FitVision’s video series, they recently spoke of the ‘fear of failure’ that we, as adults, have. We have a tendency not to try something new and not step out of our comfort zone because of the fear we have that we may fail at it. But what we actually need to do is, not concentrate on this fear and all that it is preventing us from doing and instead focus our energy how we can overcome it?
As individuals, we tend to jump to conclusions. The conclusions we have reached will then cause one of two outcomes. One outcome is that these conclusions will either limit our potential or alternatively, they could limit our success.
The conclusions that we have made can also have a detrimental effect on three important areas:
This stems from our internal dialogue. Your internal dialogue is that voice inside your head which commentates on everything around you. It is the voice that applies your logic and reasoning to situations. For example, your internal dialogue allows you to:
It is non-stop and continually shapes your world how you see it. This is a key point- ‘it shapes your world and how you see it’. We are not born with this ‘fearful’ internal dialogue. It is something we have developed…ourselves…as our lives have progressed. For example, our internal dialogue told us as a child that we needed to learn to walk. So what did we do? We tried and probably fell (several times!) What did we do next- we tried again. We persevered. So why don’t we still have positive internal dialogue? Why do we not persevere now as an adult like we did when we were children?
What we need to keep in mind is that we shape our internal dialogue. We shape our attitude and most importantly we shape our perceptions towards failure. From a young age, we are told failure is bad and this has led to us being reluctant to try new things as adults. Instead what we should do is view our failures as lessons, lessons that help us achieve our goals and silence our inner critic.
Remember, just because you fail at something does not mean you are a failure, it just proves you are trying!
Check out the Fear of Failure video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTPR3wexU4&t=11s