When we have a fear of failing, it can manifest itself in many ways. One of the ways fear of failure manifests itself is by paralyzing us. If were worried about failure, we simply stop doing anything that might lead to failure. President Harry S. Truman said, “The worst danger we face is the danger of being paralyzed by doubts and fears. The danger is brought on by those who abandon faith and sneer at hope. It is brought on by those who spread cynicism and distrust and try to blind us to the great chance to do good for all mankind.” People who experience a fear of failure stop taking risks and moving forward.
Another form manifested by fear of failure is procrastination. This is huge and very common. It simply means we never get around to accomplishing anything or following through. Wayne Gretzky said: “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” Procrastination takes away our ability to produce and bleeds our potential. It’s way to high of a price to pay for fear of failure.
A third form that manifest itself by the fear of failure is wandering without purpose. Many people who fear failure begin to think that if they can get through the day without making any mistakes, then it’s been a successful day. So rather than pursue their objectives and dreams, they just avoid doing anything that would cause them to make a mistake. In the process, they lose sight of their purpose and ultimately their dreams. Then it becomes real easy to feel sorry for themselves and start to make excuses. The only way to break this downward spiral is to take responsibility for our actions, or in this case, our inaction. Just get into action and do it.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about how you can break away from the fear of failure and live a life full of purpose and action.
Have a great day.
