Truth moment: Fear of failure is a constant battle for me, and believe it or not I HATE putting myself out there.
When I was a corporate executive, leading meetings, giving presentations and public speaking were rigueur de jour, but I was great at it and I never felt pressure to promote myself in other contexts. Your standard Linked In profile and a tight elevator pitch was about it. From there I transitioned into ministry, where promoting yourself is definitely frowned up. So I was content to hide and promote the gospel, the ministry event or whatever else demanded the spotlight.
But then I decided to become an entrepreneur. And write a book. And launch a speaking career. And a coaching business. In every other context I had been in, it was all about “the product.” It wasn’t until my first call with my social media consultant that I realized I WAS THE PRODUCT. That meant I had to put myself out there in ways I had never been comfortable doing previously. I can’t even lie: those first couple months were painful.
If I had to be honest, my biggest fear was “what if this doesn’t work.” That pesky ole fear of failure. But I’ve learned to move through it by doing a few things. These 3 things have helped me, and now numerous clients, get past the noise in our own heads and THRIVE!!
1. REDEFINE IT. I stopped thinking about failure (or success) in terms of what I achieved. I now define success by what I LEARN. Even if my talk or blog wasn’t amazing, I learned what to do better next time. Focusing on what you learned can set you up to achieve an even greater goal. You never lose – you either win or you learn.
2. SO WHAT? I think about the worst that can happen and ask myself “So what?” I jot down what I can do to avoid it and a contingency plan to deal with it just in case. By the time you do this, you’ll likely realize your fear is disproportionate to the risk. Remember: done is better than perfect.
3. SUMMON YOUR TRIBE. I thank God for the people around me who encourage, pray for and believe in me. Call on your people when you feel afraid and they’ll remind you of who God created you to be and what He’s called you to do. That’s why God put us in community.
Hope this helps y’all!!