By Tope Babatope
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Fear of failure does not protect your self respect- it prevents and aborts it. If you heed your fears you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been. Remind yourself that there is no progress without risk. Not until you have a failure can you be sure you aimed high enough. Success is making the most of the opportunity God has given you. Failure is failing to make the most of the gifts and lifts that God offers you. Fear of failure thrives in the overly idealized thinking of the perfectionist mentality. Realize that failure is never final and total. Many men and women have had a failed marriage that ended in divorce and then went on to a second successful marriage.
You may ask, what then is a real failure? Real failure is to fail as a person. To yield to cowardice in the face of an urgent but risky venture . To fearfully retreat from a high call to noble duty because you can see the possibility been of imperfection in your performance of that duty.
Suffocate your fears. Isolate yourself from those who would tell you, “it can’t be done, it will never work, “somebody else tried and failed, it’s never been done before.” Isolate yourself from such destructive, negative forces.
The truth is that through possibility thinking you wipe failure out of your life. You do this when you turn failure from a negative into a positive force. You do it by redefining the meaning of failure. Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure. It does mean you haven’t succeeded yet. Failure doesn’t mean you have accomplished nothing . It does mean you have learned something. Failure doesn’t mean you ve been disgraced . It does mean you were willing to try. Failure doesn’t mean you are inferior . It does mean you are not perfect. Failure doesn’t mean you have wasted your life. It does mean you have a reason to start a fresh . Failure doesn’t mean you will never make it. It does mean it will take a little.
You can be extremely hardworking, if you are not positive, you are inhibiting your chance at success. The problem is that we are constantly surrounded by naysayers, whether it’s family, friends, coworkers, or a cynical culture. It’s very frustrating, for these negative voices can become a chorus that knocks the life out of you. You must try to cut these people from your life, or if that’s impossible , at least be aware if their destructive message.
Self motivated people look at each day as a new opportunity. You can teach yourself to do this, just as you can condition yourself to look at things more positively, whether it’s unexpected change or the minor setbacks we all face in life.
