Overcoming the fear of failure with more self-confidence

Reading time 6 minutes

Are you tormented by the fear of failure in your professional and private life? Your performance does not meet the requirements - but where do these requirements come from? Are you perhaps standing in your own way? Have you set your goals too high or do you misjudge a situation?

Fear of failure makes many people insecure. More and more often, they fear making mistakes. A gross mistake may lead to dire consequences. You might lose your job - or a friend. But is the situation really that dramatic?

When you take a closer look, you realize that it is your own expectations that are putting you under pressure. The situation is not as difficult as it first appears. In fact, it is a problem that can be solved. However, the many facets of fear of failure make it difficult to act thoughtfully. Instead, the fear of making mistakes paralyzes you. But only one Change of perspective helps you out of the vicious circle. At Greator, you'll learn how anxiety arises and how to deal with it in order to increase your Self-esteem to strengthen.

Fear of failure symptoms - typical warning signs

There are several symptoms for fear of failure, which are not always clear. A slight Stage fright before a presentation or an uneasy feeling before a big event are considered normal. But a pronounced fear of failure leads to psychosomatic symptoms. Physical signs indicate that you should take action. Without friendly or professional help, it becomes increasingly difficult to get out of the maelstrom of this fear of failure.

Typical physical symptoms for fear of failure and other Anxiety disorders are:

  • Dyspnea
  • Tachycardia
  • Hypersensitivity
  • frequent fatigue
  • inner restlessness
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Gastrointestinal complaints
  • uncontrolled sweating
  • Sleep problems
  • Tension
  • Sync by honeybunny
  • Numbness

According to the German Institute for Overcoming Fear... fear of failure can cause not only discomfort, but also depression. It is therefore all the more important that you do something about your fear of failure.

Can I do something about fear of failure?

As with anxiety disorders, there are effective antidotes for fear of failure. First, you should realize that you are afraid. Accepting the fear is the first way to more inner peace. By admitting your fear of making mistakes to yourself, you avoid inner tensions much earlier. Conscious awareness helps you to understand your own thoughts. In this way you will find out which situations cause the unpleasant feelings.

The triggers themselves are difficult to eliminate. Because they usually happened in your early childhood and shape you accordingly until today. But the point is to find the cause of your fear of failure and to pacify it. This is a very important building block in our training for the Greator Coach - dissolve old beliefs and develop new thought patterns. Of course, in everyday life there will always be a challenging situation in which your old belief system is thrown in front of your feet.

If you are then able to recognize this quickly, you will also notice how certain things or people gradually no longer trigger you as they once did. The only thing that is important at that moment is to stay with you and your new self. What have you decided? Which values do you want to live from now on? Look forward to this healing personality development!

overcome fear of failure

6 Tips to Overcome Fear of Failure

What to do about fear of failure? The following six strategies will show you how to overcome your fear of failure. There is no universal method for success, and the fears only disappear gradually. But over time you will feel more confident.

Even if you have already started to cope with anxiety, you may still experience further anxiety attacks. If you feel strongly burdened by them, you may need professional support. In the context of psychological support, the individual strategies can be implemented in a targeted manner. But the useful tips for working on yourself will also help you.

  1. Consider the possible consequences: By assessing the possible consequences, you can see whether your fears are justified. Those who suffer from fear of failure often imagine great catastrophes. But how serious are the consequences really? If you mess up in a presentation, you look at your papers and you're ready to move on. If you fall in a competition, you get back up. The excessive fear of mistakes and setbacks is often unjustified.
  2. List Successes: You have already had many positive experiences. By thinking about the successes you have had so far, you strengthen the good feelings and gain in strength. Self-confidence. What the future will bring cannot be predicted, but you can certainly show successes from the past. With this, you prove to yourself what you can do and start the next project optimistically.
  3. Visualize opportunities and successes: Imagine celebrating the success of the task at hand. Don't think about the steps, the obstacles and the risks. This is all about visualizing the win. Emotionally anticipating the feeling of victory reduces the fear of failure.
  4. Physical relaxation exercises: Breathing exercises, meditation and other relaxing exercises reduce feelings of stress and Panic attacks. Breathing steadily helps you to detach yourself from the fear of failure. You concentrate exclusively on your body and thus take away the power of fear. During autogenic training or yoga, all muscles relax and the fear of failure subsides.
  5. Create rituals: Typical stressful situations can be better managed with the help of rituals. A cup of tea before the weekly meeting, a walk in the fresh air, stretching exercises after working at your desk for several hours - these and other rituals ground you. This is how you develop new Habitsthat are good for you.
  6. Note positive experiences: A success diary is similar to the strategy of visualizing successes. However, it has even more potential. By writing down your small positive experiences, each day gets its highlights. Pleasant memories will make you smile and strengthen your self-esteem. You also discover many interesting things and become more mindful.

Where does the fear of failure come from?

Fear of failure has different causes in each person. Individual experiences and personal character traits influence the fear of failure. Strict teachers in school days can trigger fear of failure just as much as Mobbing by classmates or demanding parents.

Sometimes the fear of failure develops only in adulthood. Typical causes of fear of failure are work stress and economic crises. A difficult family situation and other influences increase the risk of anxiety disorders. A new job can also trigger fear of failure.

To escape the pressure of suffering, some people rely on the avoidance strategy. They avoid stress, but this does not make the fear of failure disappear. On the contrary, giving in to it and avoiding the frightening situations gives the fear more power.

In other cases, the fear of failure has its origin in the Perfectionism. But those who always want to be perfect are often particularly afraid of making mistakes. And that's when the energy-sapping pull into anxiety begins. The negative effects on the psyche cannot be overlooked. The initial Enthusiasm for the demanding job is followed by the fear of not being good enough. Those affected feel the first signs of weakness, which increases their fear.

If you know where your fear of failure comes from, you can address it. Is it childhood experiences that awaken your sense of "I'm not enough"? Or is it current demands from your family? Before you start in the Burnout or suffer from chronic exhaustion, you should confront your fears. This way you will gradually reduce your fear of failure and cope better - at work and in your private life.

fear of failure at work

Fear of failure at work is often related to tricky situations. Special performance demands make you doubt whether you can do it. Exams, important meetings, lectures, and a challenging job make you think twice. Do you really want the promotion? Do your colleagues accept you and do you get the right recognition from your boss?

The fear of making mistakes often increases with responsibility. Increased pressure increases the fear of failure. If you want to be successful, coaching is for more Self-confidence helpful. At Greator, you will gain insight into typical behavior patterns and tips for overcoming fear of failure. This will help you overcome difficult phases and discover the appropriate strategies for you.

fear of failure in life

Often the Fear from failure at work. In private life, too, dangers lurk everywhere, fueling your fears. Typical moments of fear in the private sphere relate to the financial situation and to the failure of a relationship. In addition, there are sexual fears of failure.

There is increasing talk of social phobias. The Fear of rejection and fear of failure builds up in many people. Then the comparisons with others begin: Who is better, who makes fewer mistakes? One thing should be clear to you: Those who act also make mistakes. Avoidance is not a good strategy; instead, it's worth getting up again and again and taking on new challenges.

good mood

More self-confidence - less fear of failure

In our Greator Webinar for more self-confidence through coaching, you get to know better the connections between the negative and positive feelings. By building your self-esteem, you overcome the fear of failure. Uncertainty is no reason not to do something. With our support, you can do your whole Potential live out

The personal and professional development strengthen you. With the positive influence you manage to overcome outdated Beliefs and manifest new, positive ones. You yourself determine your actions - and thus also have your fears under control. By always honestly reflecting on yourself and not fearing terrible and unrealistic catastrophes, you have taken an important first step towards overcoming fear.

FREE MASTERCLASS

So you finally become really self-confident

In just one and a half hours, learn how to improve your self-esteem through a simple coaching method.
approx. 60 minutes
Theory & practice
REGISTER FOR THE MASTERCLASS FREE OF CHARGE
Reviewed by Dr. med. Stefan Frädrich

Like this article? Don't forget to share!

Recommended by Greator

GREATOR MAGAZINE
Greator SloganGreator Awards
Helpcenter
Imprint
Data privacy
GTC
Cookie settings
© copyright by Greator 2024
chevron-down