Food for Thought_FEAR OF FAILURE AND FEAR OF SUCCESS
2 min read
Shimla, May 11, 25
“If you are afraid of failing, you are actually afraid of learning how to get better and how to succeed.”
-What if I fail?
I’ve been through this often. At times, we hide behind the excuse of being “perfectionists”, of wanting to get things just right, and according to our ideas about what “right” looks like, we want the conditions right before we start and since they are not just quite right, we stay put. We do not make decisions or take those specific determining actions that will move us forward. We are more concerned about how we will look to others and to our own perception of ourselves that we don’t make any effective decisions (which is an effective decision in itself of not being the Captains of our respective Ships).
Sometimes the fear of failure can also be veiled as the fear of success itself because it means that life, as we know it now, will change, the status quo will change, we will have to adapt to a different lifestyle, we will have to grow (and growth isn’t the easiest or smoothest of processes), we will have to deal with more, take on more responsibilities, develop new skills, gain more knowledge, have to become humble again to learn something new.
In my experience, oftentimes, people can also have the fear of success underlying the fear of failure.
What if I do everything that needs to be done and I actually succeed? Gasp!
That is a worrisome thought for many, myself included, for it means that I will have to give up wherever I am comfortable right now. Some kind of break in my routines will take place, I will have to sacrifice something, I will have to take a long hard look at where I am utilising my time, energy and resources and the ensuing results and consequences. I will have to step up into a still bigger version of myself.
The past few months, and more particularly, days have brought me deeper insights into my life purpose in alignment with my core values, making me ask myself some good hard questions, one of which I am putting below for your reflection:
