Tag: worry

Fear of failure or is it something else

Posted on by philipdodson

Fear of failure is one of those excuses that we often use externally as a reason not to do something different or outstanding.

I actually think that it is deeper than that, it is an internal fear that we don’t admit to others.

I think that it is to do more with the fear of ridicule by peers, of feeling silly in front of friends/family/coworkers that often keeps us in our discomfort zone of the familiar.

It is that personal thing that effects our self-confidence, our egos, that holds us back more than the fear of it failing.

We often satisfied with good enough, instead of stepping into the ring and daring to be great. That way we avoid the fear of criticism or ridicule.

The good news, however, everyone else is facing that fear, so much so, that they are not that bothered with your idea, they are too busy stewing over what people might think of their ideas, should they decide to share them with the world.

It is best to completely ignore what others might think of your ideas. As they are your ideas and it is the real world of customers and their thoughts that matters, as to whether, that new product or service that you launch, will be a success.

Going further than that, there will be a niche for almost any idea and it is likely to be more than just a few of the 7 billion of us, that will think that your idea is great.

Some of the greatest, world changing ideas are often not liked by the masses initially. It is the small percent of early adopters that matter the most anyway, as they will love it and help spread it further for you.

So be brave, be bold, step out of the discomfort zone of the fear of ridicule and dare to try your ideas.

Think differently, work differently, live and be different..

Stay chilled

Posted on by philipdodson

The secret to life is to stay chilled and relaxed about stuff.

We can only control one thing and that is what we choose to do, think, feel, say or the people we surround ourselves with.

All other things, like other’s choices, the weather etc are all outside of our control.

We are all guilty to a greater or lesser extent of trying to change or control these things, that we simply can not control. We often, like swimming against a tide, try relentlessly to make a certain outcome happen, exhausting ourselves mentally and even physically, in the process.

So I am gradually learning to focus on just the things that I can control. Such as choosing my daily mindset, choosing to be happy, to be positive, no matter what comes along. This is hard, but like all things it is just a habit and therefore if you practice it often enough, then it becomes easier and part of your routine.

I have almost, I am smiling to myself now, stopped trying to control others and how they may react. This has been another big challenge, but at the end of the day people will make their own minds up and the more you try to make a particular outcome happen, often the more that outcome is less likely to happen. Most of us like the freedom of making our own choices. Therefore, when we feel pressured from others, we sometimes become more inclined to do the opposite (is that’s just me!).

So, most outcomes in life will happen anyway, no matter what we say or do or how much we try to make them so. Therefore, it is best to just chill and focus on you and your choices.

99.99% of all the things we worry about never happen and if they do, if the worst happens, most of us are more than able to deal with that situation. Also, it is rarely as bad as we anticipate either.

OK so I am off to chill and be happy.