Why do humans fear failure so much?

This goes back to our roots as a species on this planet. Then, a failure would cost you a serious injury or even worse, your life.

We had to survive and we did.

We adapted to a series of new environments and we evolved. In fact, we are the most adaptable form of life out there.

During the industrial age, we learned how things are getting done the ‘right way’ and we’ve been put into endless assembling lines of production. And we’ve built an educational system that was based on the success of the factories. You know! To get a job, work for the factories, and then, after 10 or 20 years we may get a promotion and become managers.

Then a failure, even just a simple mistake would lead to embarrassment and rejection from groups and circles. Because there was the ‘right way’ of doing things. 

And still, during these modern times, we are still afraid of making mistakes, of failing.

It’s in our DNA.

And this is why humans are more drawn to avoid things they don’t like rather than chasing things they want to happen. That’s why the majority of people abandon their dreams prematurely.

But there is a way to transform our beliefs and reprogram our subconscious mind.

Embrace Failure & Learn From It

Experimenting and Knowledge

It’s OK to go and try new things out. It’s the formula for success, the only one.

If you don’t try new things out in the world you’ll never get feedback and you won’t gain experience.

This is especially true for entrepreneurs who should experiment a lot.

Why experimenting?

In order to improve and get better in all areas of your life and business, to innovate and create new products and services that the market needs, to become a better parent and leader, to form meaningful and quality relationships…

And by experimenting with new things you gain knowledge. And knowledge is valuable. Even more valuable than the outcome of your experiments.

Knowledge is the foundation that success is built upon.

Sure, you will fail, this is inevitable. Most of our experiments won’t go the way we wanted them to go.

But what we learn from experiments and failings can be used later on in our lives. It’s not only a loss.

This is the process and the right mindset! I’m gonna try new things and I know that I may fail but…I know that I’ll gain knowledge that will be proved valuable at some point in my life.

What learning means

Learning is not only about reading and memorizing things.

We should take what we learn from studying and put it into practice. We need to see how things work out in the real world and how people react to our actions.

This is how we gain experience.

And when you are able to transform this experience into a tool that can be used in your life and business over and over again, you’ve mastered learning.

And when you master learning and you use your experiences to get consistent results in all domains, you become successful.

So, think of it this way…failing is all about learning and growing

Essential part of growth

Would you expect a 3-months kid to step up and walk without falling down? But you don’t have a problem watching your kid falling down at this age. You don’t take it as a failure. You take it as a natural process of getting things done. Why not do the same with adults?

What about driving for the first time? Would someone be able to know everything in an instance?

Have you ever played music? Any instrument… would you expect to master it without any mistakes?

Didn’t Einstein or any genius fail? Ever? I bet they were failing all day long, but they had the ‘right’ mindset.

Without failure, there is no learning, there is no experience, there is no growth.

Failing it’s just an essential part of growth and it’s normal.

Examples

Even the biggest names fail, and not just once or twice, but multiple times. Many of the giant companies and business leaders you now recognize, were failing big at some point.

Did you know that Walt Disney got fired by an editor because of a lack of imagination? His first animation company went bankrupt and turned down a hundred times.

Thomas Edison as a young boy was told by his teacher that he was too stupid to learn anything. His first successful light bulb was the result of around 10,000 failures and experiments that did not go as planned.

More stories can be found in this article by AmericanExpress.

Opportunity is everywhere

This is my favorite quote from Thomas Edison. not the one in the picture.

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

We have to keep our eyes and hearts open to spot the big opportunities that are coming our way.

Opportunity will knock on your door but are you ready?

The Roman philosopher Seneca says that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

I won’t say that you should not give up no matter what. Sometimes, giving up is a wise choice.

But always do not give up too early. Give yourself a second and a third chance, especially when trying something new. It just takes some time before other people realize it’s importance. Because success won’t come without the recognition of others.

Epilogue

Don’t worry that things will go wrong. They will but it won’t last forever. Beyond the fear of failure, there is another magic word I bet you can relate to, faith.

We know how to evolve and survive. And we believe that failure is just part of progress. We need to embrace it and learn from it. 

Related:

• Most people don’t succeed, but you can be the exception
• Motivation Made in Heaven – Zig Ziglar Story
• Common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs
• The Demanding Role of a Business Owner: Leading Towards Success 
• Business Organisation & Administration: Thesis

That’s it, another article has finished, here on Web Market Support. I am waiting for your comments and thoughts. Till next time.