fear of failure

i was asked today to write a post about the fear of failure. this is a common fear. we often set ourselves up to fail by taking on too much and then beating ourselves up when we can't do it all.

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” 
― Thomas A. Edison

unless we try, we don't have the option to fail. and what kind of life is that? it's a life of not living. the fear of failure can be paralyzing. how can you face your fears? 

1. look at things from a different perspective. 

2. think about the potential outcomes of whatever you are afraid of failing at. often we are afraid of the unknown. 

3. try to think positively. 

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” 
― Winston S. Churchill

the courage to continue. to get yourself up every morning to face the day, even when it's hard. the courage to face the difficult things in life. to face the potential of failure head on. to take risks. to fail and to get back up again. 

“Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. ” 
― Coco Chanel

no matter how many times you fail, don't beat yourself up. you can't make yourself into someone that you're not. you are uniquely and wonderfully you. 

“Life is full of screwups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence.” 
― Sarah Dessen

being human means making mistakes, getting messy, and learning as you go. 

“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” 
― Ken Robinson

you have to be prepared to be wrong. you will face many challenges, some will have a successful outcome and some wont. but if you don't try, you wont have the opportunity to learn. 

a friend asked me to write this post. she overextended herself and had to give up some things. she feels like she failed. but that isn't failure. that is learning from your experience. that is taking care of yourself. that is being an adult and knowing when enough is enough. that isn't failure. 

“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” 
― Ellen DeGeneres

be kind to yourself,

xoxo

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