You have a goal you want to achieve, so you prepare. You figure out the steps you need to take to accomplish it. You estimate the amount of time you need to dedicate to it. Then, you get to work doing small tasks and checking things off the list.

You’re then presented with an opportunity to go after the thing you’ve been desiring – a chance to prove your readiness and finally reach the mark you’ve been dreaming of.

But even though the very thing you want is staring you in the face, you refuse to move forward. You make excuses, point out the obstacles and turn away from the very thing you claim to desire.

You start to think something’s wrong with you. You start to wonder if that thing really is for you. You may even question your ability to accomplish other goals that you have.

This is when you need to pause for a moment and ask yourself what you’re afraid of.

Just imagine with me…..
You’re waiting off stage preparing to go on and claim your long awaited prize. While you’re waiting, someone sneaks up behind you, pouring crazy glue on the floor. They call your name and you want to go get what you’ve been working toward, but now you’re stuck. Shoes glued to the floor while the thing you want, and is available to you, is just out of reach.

That’s how fear works. It’s sneaky. And for no good reason, it stops you in your tracks, keeping you from all that you want to go after.
So I’ve come up with 3 steps you can take to help you overcome your fear of failure and prevent it from holding you back any longer.

Step 1: Acknowledge that you have the fear

Trying to act like the fear isn’t there isn’t very helpful. Many times there’s a reason, or underlying association, that’s causing you not to move forward. Maybe you believe that going after what you want will cause a problem in another area of your life. Maybe you’ve been told that you don’t deserve or shouldn’t desire the thing that you’ve been working toward. Or maybe you doubt your ability to hold onto the thing you really want once you have it.
Without acknowledging the fear and working to uproot the cause of it, you’ll continue to remain stuck where you are.

Step 2: Take action!

You have to climb out of those stuck in fear shoes and run after the thing you want anyway. When you start moving, you leave less mental space for doubt and you begin to prove that the fear is inaccurate. Your determination to move forward anyway will help you become more confident and you’ll override the fear that’s keeping you from what you want. 

Step 3: Remember that fear is never the truth

It’s a smokescreen positioned between you and anything you want. So it’s important to replace fear filled thinking with truth and begin to change your internal dialogue. 

Asking yourself questions like, what if it does work out? And what if my work pays off? is a great way to get yourself excited and open your mind up to greater possibilities.

How is it that people feel fear and accomplish their goals anyway? It’s because they understand that failure isn’t fatal. Failure is a learning opportunity on the journey to what you desire.

Confronting your fear of failure with these 3 steps:

1. acknowledge the fear

2. take action to override the fear and

3. ask yourself questions that replace fear filled thinking 

will begin shifting the way you think about the fears that arise in your mind and will speed up your ability to achieve all that you desire. So go ahead and give it a try.

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So, tell me… What has fear been keeping you from? What are you going to accomplish now that you’re equipped with these 3 steps?