If you want to be successful, you have to take more risks. By this I don’t mean being reckless, I simply mean that in order for you to truly succeed you have to risk failure.
This is one of the big differences between people who are successful and those that aren’t. Successful people dare to win, while not being afraid to fail. Most people are terrified of failure so don’t step out of their comfort zones to take risks, and therefore never really dare to succeed. The true potential of most people is severely limited by their fear of failure.
Fear of failure is not something we are born with. We start life as keen risk takers, eager to learn and to win. Every child that learns to walk does so by taking a leap of faith, out of their comfort zone, and risking failure. And, at this age, such risk taking behaviour is encouraged. When little Johnny stands up for the first time, and then falls over, we don’t say ‘you’re a failure, don’t bother doing that again!’ Little Johnny simple tries again and again, and if something isn’t working he tries a different approach, until finally he is successful. This approach is crucial to success in anything. Unfortunately most people lose this mindset somewhere between learning to walk and adulthood, and replace it with a fear of failure, to be avoided at all costs. Luckily, though, you can choose to re-adopt the risk taking approach whenever you choose.
So how do successful people eliminate the fear and instead use failure to achieve success in all areas of their lives?
* Successful people do not allow failure to stop them, in fact they relish in the learning that accompanies failure.
* Successful people don’t take failure personally, and don’t worry what other people think of them.
* Successful people monitor their results and change direction when and if required.
* Successful people know there are no guarantees of success and that any new ventures require a leap of faith, so stepping outside of your comfort zone is essential.
* Successful people don’t like failure, but they understand that they need to risk failure, in order to win.
If you want to be successful, you can’t be scared of failure, you simply have to take that risk. Risks may result in mistakes, which are essential for learning, and is in turn essential for success. Adopt this mindset for yourself and encourage it in your children, for eliminating the fear of failure opens up a whole new world of possibilities and is a crucial element of success.
By Jacqui Thomas
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