How to Deal With the Fear of Failure (2023)

FAQs

How do I get over my fear of failure interview question? ›

If you want to get past a fear of failure, commit to the thing you're afraid of failing at. Just take that first step without overthinking it (burn the boats). We're often more afraid of the anticipation that leads up to that first step than the first step itself.

Practice self-compassion – remember you are trying your best and that is enough. Failure is part of life and whilst it is not pleasant, it doesn't make you any less valuable or loveable as a person. Try acknowledging the feeling of fear rather than distracting yourself.

Pychyl suggests breaking down tasks into easily accomplished steps. Even completing a relatively small action will help you make progress and feel better about the task. This increases your self-esteem, which in turn reduces the desire to procrastinate to make yourself feel better, he says.

Shame: The fear of failure often stems from a fear of experiencing shame or embarrassment. Failing can trigger feelings worthlessness, so avoiding trying in the first place can sometimes serve as a way to protect the self from disappointment, regret, and sadness.

How do you overcome failure in education? ›

Fear of failure can be linked to many causes. For instance, having unsupportive or critical parents is a cause for some people. Because they were routinely undermined or humiliated in childhood, they carry those negative feelings into adulthood. Experiencing a traumatic event in your life can also be a cause.

1) Admit the mistake. Knowing the true cause of a failure is the first step to overcoming it, after acknowledging that there's a problem or failure in the first place. Leaders who practice denial might feel better about themselves temporarily, but nothing gets done to make things better.

"We learn more from our failures than from our successes. Not only do we find out what doesn't work so that we can adjust our future attempts, we learn about ourselves in the process and gain a bit of empathy towards others that might be struggling as well."

Atychiphobia (Fear of Failure) Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure. It may cause you to put off or avoid any activity or scenario that has the potential for an unsuccessful outcome. Someone with this condition may be scared to try new things, take risks or embrace growth for fear of failure.

What are 3 causes of fear? ›

Start small: Gradually exposing yourself to new things in small doses can help you get used to new experiences. Distract yourself: When you find yourself faced with the unfamiliar, look for ways to occupy your attention without focusing on the source or symptoms of your fear.

Choose a specific failure

Pick a real failure that happened in the workplace, specifically a failure related to the work you're doing now. Look for a story where something didn't go as planned. Choosing the right story is important, as you want to explain a situation where only one thing went wrong.

Don't think of failure as failure. Instead, think of it as life's way of showing you that you need to improve, and how to do so. In particular, ask yourself what you could have done differently to achieve a better result. Then consider how you could put that into practice to help you to improve for next time.

Atelophobia is an obsessive fear of imperfection. Someone with this condition is terrified of making mistakes. They tend to avoid any situation where they feel they won't succeed. Atelophobia can lead to anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Appointments 866.588.2264.

We think we can set the future

Yet another reason why we have so much trouble dealing with failure is because of our misconception about the future. We assume that the future is controllable, that we can set a goal and then simply achieve it. If so, life would be very dull indeed.

Rather, a fear of failure is essentially a fear of shame. People who have a fear of failure are motivated to avoid failing not because they cannot manage the basic emotions of disappointment, anger, and frustration that accompany such experiences but because failing also makes them feel deep shame.

This chronic fear can be so extreme that it negatively affects your life. Atychiphobia affects an estimated 2 – 5% of the population. Symptoms of an irrational fear of failure can range from mild to extreme and can include: Rapid heart rate.

There were many studies conducted to figure out the exact reasons why students fail despite the larger influence of modern educational technology. Lack of motivation and perseverance, the absence of preparation and effort, poor time management and a lot of other external factors were seen in the list.

How do I overcome my fear of school? ›

Other examples of failures for your interview

Remember: The best examples of failures allow you to tell a compelling story because you learned something and grew from the failure. Not meeting others' expectations. Missing a deadline. Taking on too much/over-promising.

I was responsible for interacting with big clients and understanding the requirements. Being a fresher, I did not pay much attention to the details of the project. Instead, I focused only on my ethics and discipline. My poor listening skills led me to lose one of the most significant projects of the organization.

Some short answer examples for the question can be like “I think to fail at something is making a mistake and not learning from it.”, or “I think failure is not reaching your full potential even with an abundance of resources around you. That's a failure because you had chances of doing the work better”.

The best way to answer this question is to provide an example of a time you failed in the past, and then explain what you learned from it. Ideally, it will be a time you learned, in fact, to be a better employee. When providing an example, explain what the situation was, and what you tried (and failed) to achieve.

Explain what happened clearly and quickly. Take responsibility and don't make excuses for the failure. Show what you learned from the experience. Talk about how you've used the experience to become better at your job and avoid similar mistakes.

How do you answer what motivates and drives you? ›

Show that you have skills and experience to do the job and deliver great results. You never know what other candidates offer to the company. But you know you: emphasize your key skills, strengths, talents, work experience, and professional achievements that are fundamental to getting great things done on this position.

Possible Answer #3

I was given significant time to wrap up the task. I split the work according to my deadline. When just 2 days were left, I shut down the system without saving my work. I quickly realized the mistake and restarted the work just to finish it in time.

Atychiphobia (Fear of Failure) Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure. It may cause you to put off or avoid any activity or scenario that has the potential for an unsuccessful outcome. Someone with this condition may be scared to try new things, take risks or embrace growth for fear of failure.

Tell your story.

Interviewers don't ask this question to see you squirm, they want to know how you handle setbacks—so get to the part where you're dealing with the failure as quickly as possible. Start with the situation, and explain why it was challenging. Then go into what you specifically did to try and rectify it.