The fear of failure does one very unpleasant thing — it paralyses us. One of the reasons for inaction is precisely the fear of failure. No action, no failure. Until a person removes this extremely negative emotion, he will not be ready to make a qualitative leap in his life. It has a great affect on students too:
What if I don’t pass this exam? What if I won’t be able to find a job after graduation? What if I don’t get a first for this essay?
We’ve all had thoughts like that at some point during our studies. However, if you’re feeling it now (exam period during the last few weeks of the term can be really scary) you need to change your point of view on the fear of failure. These points helped me to overcome this fear in my first year of University, and now I’m going to share them with you:
Failure is only a step up
There are no failures, there is only feedback. We attach too much importance to failures, don’t we? We believe that failure is the final result, an undesirable event. And we’re missing one important thing: failure is only part of a very long learning and growth process.
You probably know people who only get stronger and wiser after their failures. How do they handle it?
If you look closely, you will realise that they have developed a unique way of thinking. For them, failure is just a part of success. They have developed immunity to the fear of failure because they are not afraid to learn from their mistakes. If you have made a mistake, it signals that you have done something wrong, that’s all. This means that you need to change the approach, and not constantly apply the same one. So failure is not a separate event, it is part of the success process.
Failure is not the finish line, but a stepping stone on the way to the finish line.
Failure is just an event
At school, many were ridiculed for mistakes. Therefore, if someone wants to grow as a person, they must understand a simple thing: failure is an event.
If your essay idea did not bring good results, your self-esteem should not fall. Never be absolutely sure about your idea. Believe in it, but don’t be overconfident. Only in this case will you be able to separate your idea from your personality. Recognise an idea as your own only when it has become successful, before that it is just an attempt and nothing more.
You just experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. This is a great approach to essay writing that i use for all of my essays! I pick my topics wisely, but if they turn out to be too vague/too complicated, I just move to another one.
Failure is the only way
You are defeated only if you step into unfamiliar territory. And if you step into unfamiliar territory, then you are progressing. You cannot succeed in an area that everyone knows perfectly well without you. You’re looking for unfamiliar trails and getting bumps.
Simply put, if you are not mistaken, then you will never know what your abilities and boundaries really are. No breakthrough is possible without pushing the boundaries of what is possible for you. Failure is just an indicator that you are experimenting and learning.
Failure is a consequence of the search for innovation
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
— Edison’s famous phrase perfectly reflects his way of thinking.
Creativity differs from innovation cause the innovator not only has a great idea, he also has the courage to bring it to life. A creative person lives in every innovator, but the opposite is not always the case.
What happens when innovators tries to bring their most daring idea to life? Yes, they are usually defeated by the world’s rejection of their invention. If the innovator stops at this stage, then they really have failed. But if they drew a conclusion from his defeat, they became closer to his dream. Remember that when you succeed, people will forget your failures. That is why we remember geniuses only for their successes.
Failure is not as bad as it seems
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. - Oscar Wilde.
Can we go even further and enjoy our mistakes, defeats and failures? And don’t you think that the fear of failure is much more painful than failure itself?
The more often you suffer defeats, the more normal they become for you. The first failures may have been the end of the world for you, but they shouldn’t stop you from trying again. And after the hundredth failure, you’ll stop being afraid completely.
You can also make mistakes intentionally in order to train yourself to act even when there is a serious possibility of defeat. Just doing do it while writing a final essay or sitting an important exam😆
With each failure, you gain a new experience if you don’t repeat it
Everyone is afraid. Do not perceive fear as the ultimate emotion, as the finish line. Fear is absolutely normal. Just let it spur you on, not paralyse you. Curb your fear and make it work for you.
Agree, successful people achieve success not because they are not afraid of fear, but because they overcome it. A successful person has achieved the goal, an unsuccessful one has not achieved it. And somewhere between these two people lies their attitude to fear. The first uses fear to succeed, the second is afraid of it and lets it stop them from being great.
I hope these tips will help you gain self-confidence and change your mindset! Remember that it’s okay to be afraid and live with it calmly. Now go and smash those last exams and essays, as there’s nothing to be afraid of!
