Overcoming Fear of Failure (Part 7)

2 Timothy 2:3-6 says: "Therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits."

Our quote for today is from Vincent van Gogh. He said: "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are continuing with Part 7 of our series titled, “Overcoming Fear of Failure”.

In our last episode, we talked about how exaggerating our fears -- imagining that the worst possible things that can happen do happen -- can help us overcome the fear of failure. Today, we are going to summarize all that we have learned in this series.

Edwin Bliss writes:

Suppose you'd like to learn Spanish. It would be useful to you in your work but not essential, so you've been putting off registering for the class. You analyze the reasons and realize your procrastination stems from fear of failure, fear of competing with younger students who might have more supple minds and perhaps even Spanish-speaking backgrounds.

First, imagine yourself successfully learning the language; picture yourself meeting friendly and interesting people, in the class and beyond, conversing with them in Spanish; envision yourself enhancing your status within the organization you work for because of your new-found skill. See yourself traveling in Spanish-speaking countries with new freedom and a new appreciation of the culture.

Now envision the worst. The worst that could happen would be to flunk out of the course. Mentally paint a terrible picture of the instructor ridiculing you, all the other students far outperforming you. So what? You could simply resign and nobody would really care. You wouldn't have lost much except some time. The experience would be distasteful, but you realize that you certainly could handle it.

Now ask yourself what is most likely to happen. You probably won't star, but you aren't likely to be ridiculed either. Chances are you'll do at least as well as the average and your shortcomings will hardly be noticed. And although you may have some difficulties gaining proficiency, you realize that you definitely would gain something worthwhile by the experience. Your fear now begins to dissipate and you are more likely to be able to take the plunge.

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