Fear of Success Leads to Failure

I keep making the same mistake and have to ask myself why.

Now you may have been told that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Yet, how easy it becomes to stay in your rut because somehow that rut seems safer, familiar even comforting as compared to climbing out and continuing on your way.

A professor once told me that the thing people fear most is change. Well, change and public speaking. Blogs have made public speaking easy for anyone with a keyboard. But change is another animal all together.

So how do we reverse failure and change our path?

If we take the easy road are we living life to its fullest? Of course not! It’s only with the willingness to take risks and reach for our goals that we can begin to really live. But what is it that keeps us from reaching for that goal. Fear? Yes, but fear of what?

From the time we are born we are taught the values of right and wrong according to someone’s playbook. No don’t do that, don’t touch that, don’t say that…We become indoctrinated to failure as a way of life. I like Jack Canfield’s approach to overcoming fear. He teaches the concept of Ready Fire Aim. Sound a little backward? I thought so too in the beginning but not any longer.

When we fear success or failure we are placing obstacles in our path. Applying the emergency brake all the time. But if we subscribe to the Ready Fire Aim mentality it releases those brakes and forces us to continue to move forward through our self imposed obstacles. Otherwise, we might spend so much time getting ready and aiming that we never actually fire. But if we ready and fire, take notice of whether we hit the target or not and readjust from there, we carried by our forward momentum toward our goals.

I can’t figure out if I’m afraid of reaching my goal or afraid of failing to reach my goal. But either way, it’s fear that’s holding me back and failure is unacceptable.

FDR was right when he told the US that all we have to fear is fear itself.  It’s time to pick up my sword and shield and head off to battle.

Wish me luck. Failure is not an option.