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Fear of failure is something that blocks many people from achieving their goals. They imagine how horrible it would be if they fail, and this sometimes prevents them from even trying or not giving 100 percent effort. Here are a few tips on overcoming the fear of failure.

1. Change how you view failure
Your first step is being clear about what you mean by failure, because this is not always apparent. Have you failed if you are not trying to achieve your goals at all, if you have given up, if you have not reached your goal, if it is taking you too long to reach your goal? You need to be clear about what constitutes failure because it is the key to what is stopping you.

It is best to view failure as the difference or disparity between what you ideally want to achieve and what you think you can actually accomplish. This will help to give you solid information that you can evaluate and use to plan your course of action or to make changes in what you are doing.

And remember the saying – You have not failed until you quit. As long as you are making the effort, you have not failed.

2. Distinguish between threats that actually exist and those that are just imagined.
Often, we make things worse by imagining problems and threats where there are none. It is another truism that most of the things we worry about never happen.

3. Set positive rather than negative goals.
There are two types of goals that people set for themselves. One is positive – to achieve some goal, such as getting a raise or a promotion. But there are negative goals people have as well – to avoid something, to prevent it from happening, such as avoiding a bad performance review.

It is better to pursue the positive goals because negative ones are more likely to instill a fear of failure. Negative goals are more nebulous, harder to plan for, and so tend to make achieving them that much more difficult. They simply add to the tension and stress of trying to achieve them, increasing our fear of not achieving them.

4. Do not bind yourself too closely to a certain result.
The more you want to achieve a goal, the more any effort wide of mark will be interpreted as failure. That is why it is good to desire a goal, but not too much. There are times when you need to amend your goal, when circumstances change. What at first looked to be attainable may turn out not to be, or not even to be worthwhile going after any more.

There are times when you need to reevaluate your goal in the face of changing events, but if you are too attached to it, you may not be able to, and this will just increase your fear of failure.

If fear of failure is affecting your job search, get in touch with Winston Resources. We can help you find a job that fits your skills and knowledge. Give us a call today.


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