Are you scared to make mistakes? Have you turned down opportunities due to the risk of failure? Do you prefer to stay in your comfort zone?
Fear of failure is a huge confidence killer. Research shows that confidence is your willingness to try. The first time you try, you might fail. But you learn by failing. You gain knowledge and experience to try again and to fail a little bit less next time. If you’re too scared to try something new, it’s hard to build confidence in yourself.
What if you gave yourself permission to fail? Having permission to fail takes away the pressure of success, which can improve your performance.
The power of failure.
Failure is a powerful catalyst for personal and professional development. It’s a stepping stone on the pathway to success. Failure teaches you resilience, problem-solving skills, and the ability to navigate challenges. It fuels creativity and innovation.
Learning to fail fast is key to confidence building.
In the tech industry, failing fast is a strategy for accelerating learning and innovation. Failing fast involves rapid experimentation and quick identification of failures or weaknesses in a project or idea. Rather than avoiding failure, the goal is to learn from it, iterate rapidly, and ultimately achieve success. Setbacks are viewed as valuable data points, not roadblocks.
By failing fast, individuals and organizations can iterate quickly, adapt to changing circumstances, and make informed decisions based on real-world experiences.
Get busy failing in small ways to stop ruminating on your shortcomings. Take actions instead of overthinking. Get outside your comfort zone and try new things. If you wait to feel ready, that day may never come. Take action BEFORE you feel ready.
What’s something new you’ve always been too scared to try?
Since my divorce, I’ve pushed myself to try many new things outside my comfort zone to build my confidence. For example, I tried my first improv class last weekend to work on my “on the fly” communication skills. It felt amazing to let go of my fear of failure and learn a new skill.
How can YOU overcome your fear of failure?
🖼️ Reframe your perspective. Shift your mindset to see failure as an opportunity for growth, not a negative outcome. View failure as feedback. Each failure is a lesson that brings you one step closer to success.
🗓️ Break goals into manageable steps. Achieving these smaller milestones provides a sense of accomplishment and builds confidence.
⏩ Learn from failure. Instead of beating yourself up for failing, ask yourself what you learned. I was given this beautiful acronym from a Master Coach I deeply admire. FAIL = First Attempt In Learning
🫂 Lean on your support network. Surround yourself with individuals who encourage and support you to provide reassurance during challenging times and to help you gain perspective on your failures.
🔭 Visualize success. Create a mental image of your success. Visualization can help reduce anxiety and instill confidence.
🥳 Celebrate small wins. Acknowledge and celebrate your successes, no matter how small. At the end of each day, make a list of three things that went well that day. Celebrating achievements, even minor ones, boosts your confidence.
Despite your fear, what bold action can you take in the next week to build your confidence? Hit reply and let me know, so I can cheer you on!
Check out my recent podcast episode: Confidence to Try: https://bit.ly/52WeeksOfMeEp109
Happy listening, my lovelies!
-Anna
